


Scapegrace: Genesis(Gerard Way)

by MissShellfishBeach



Series: The Scapegrace Series [1]
Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Blood and Violence, Consensual Underage Sex, Demon Gerard Way, Demons, F/F, F/M, Female Homosexuality, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Sexual Content, Smut, Training and combat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-10-06 21:58:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 51
Words: 191,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10345404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissShellfishBeach/pseuds/MissShellfishBeach
Summary: Gerard has always been aware of the monsters to roam the earth alongside humans, and in fact, he is one of them himself. But he isn't out for blood like most of them. He among few others is capable of love and heartbreak. Soon, he finds himself falling head over heels for one of his students, Winter Kirijo. All seems well, that is, before Scapegrace makes her presence known and strikes fear into the citizens of New York. Soon, he's not sure if he's able to protect Winter from this insane criminal.





	1. Welcome to Paradise

_Is she a hero, or is she a villain? A friend, or a foe? Is she a Benign, or a Malign? What are her motives and intentions?_

_Who is Scapegrace?_

_No one knew who she was or what she wanted. No one knew where she came from, even. All they knew was that she was here, and she was dangerous. She didn't seem to be all too threatening, but everyone knew better than to cross her. Some of the people of New York had seen first hand just what she was capable of. It was clear to most that she was something...more than human. She was impossibly fast, incredibly agile, and was able to outsmart the smartest criminal in the country if she really wanted to. She was a true enigma._

_The city was alive and wild with teens out past their curfew and night time scavengers on the prowl for innocent lives to devour. And as to be expected, Scapegrace was actively scourging out the place for unwanted pests. She was concealed skillfully within the dark shadows yet everyone was fully aware of her presence. She lurked like a predator in the wilderness on the corner of Broadway, clad in all black and eyes narrowed dangerously. The bottom half of her face was covered with a black respirator mask, a large biohazard insignia surrounded with red on either side of it. Black, splotchy face paint coated her skin as if someone had pelted her with a paint gun. Her eyes were a similar shade of red as the one surrounding the biohazard symbols, except they were much brighter, and they seemed to glow like lights. She had a hood up over her head, hiding her hair. Only her eyes were visible to everyone else._

_As she stood statuesque in the darkness, her sights seemed to have been set on someone in particular who had just waltzed past her. It was a younger boy in a prestigious school uniform; dark slacks, white dress shirt and coat that bore the symbol for Hastings Academy. Exactly fitting for a quite prestigious place of education. The boy turned his head briefly to look at Scapegrace as if she were a freak. She looked back at him with a similar expression. He quickly turned back around and continued on his trek to wherever it was he was headed to. Scapegrace removed herself from where she stood and followed after his trail. People stepped away from her like she was a disease, allowing for her to better keep track of her moving target._

_Her heavy combat boots pounded along the sidewalk as she went, and she radiated pure menace. Many other civilians gave her frightened looks, little kids stared at her while their parents urged them to ignore her as they hurriedly rushed past her. Everyone was afraid of her, but she gave no reaction to any of their whispering or scared expressions. As far as she was concerned, no one else existed except for that devious looking school boy barely ten feet ahead of her. Those who failed to move away from her in time, she shoved roughly away until she was on the boys' heels._

_He stunk of liquor...and fresh blood. A scent that Scapegrace knew all too well. People began to take notice of her targeting this seemingly innocent and harmless student who was just trying to get back home. Some people even started nudging their chins toward the direction behind him and giving him warning glances._

_The boy eventually grew suspicious and turned around to see Scapegrace less than five feet away. He grew vexed and started to shout at her._

_"Dude, if you don't quit following me-" his voice rose rather quickly before he was cut off. Literally._

_Scapegrace suddenly pulled a large dagger from a holster strapped to her thigh and swung lightning speed at his throat. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates before he quickly leaned back and collapsed on his behind. The blade had barely grazed his adam's apple and a single drop of blood escaped from the wound. Everyone around them stopped and a multitude of shocked gasps rang out through the air._

_"What the f- you crazy bitch!!" The boy screamed up at her. Scapegrace glared down at him, taking a step forward and going in for the kill. She pounced like a lion and they went rolling off into the streets, almost being hit a hoard of taxi's and trucks. They honked obnoxiously while Scapegrace straddled the boy and attempted to stab at his chest._

_"Some get this psycho cunt off of me!!" He shrieked while deflecting the vigilante's attacks. She growled lowly at him, ripped the knife away and went for his face when he promptly headbutt her and shoved her off of him. Before he had a chance to book it out of there, Scapegrace was already on her feet and ready to spill some blood._

_"What the FUCK!?"_

_With the strength of a hundred angry men, she snatched the collar of his button up and slammed him down onto the hood of a cab car. The boy yelled out in agony as there was now a giant dent in the shape of his head and torso. The vehicle beeped and the driver stepped out with a livid face. The driver then began cursing at her, throwing insults left and right and even got out his cellphone to call the police. His anger soon halted and was replaced by unadulterated fear when the vigilante brought the dagger down on the boys' face. She had stabbed him right between the eyes, which began glowing an unnatural shade of emerald. He screeched like a bat straight out of hell, and it was obvious that this wasn't just a regular high school student._

_The terrified driver dropped his cellphone in disbelief, meanwhile, Scapegrace yanked the dagger out of the demon's face and instead plunged it right into his chest where his heart was. He screeched even louder than before and the vigilante threw him into the middle of the street. He didn't move anymore, and everyone around them knew he was now dead._

_As if nothing had happened, Scape placed her weapon back into the holster on her thigh, looked around her for a moment, and awkwardly saluted at the pulled over vehicles surrounding her._

_With a complete disregard for all of the poor civilians who had to witness this brutal execution, she started making her way back into the shadows where she belonged. No one knew where she was going, and no one really wanted to know._

_She was about a block down the street when she sensed someone following after her instead. She wasted no time in spinning on her heels to see a youthful man with chin length brown hair and ice blue eyes sneering in her direction. His hands came together once to make a single booming clap and he cackled as if she had said something hilarious. His unsettling laughter continued on for a few more moments before it finally died down. All the while, Scapegrace did nothing but scowl distastefully at him._

_"My, my...what a little scoundrel, you, going after your own kind like that."_

_The vigilante let out a scoff, tilting her head to the side in a challenging manner. When she didn't say anything back, he started speaking in that indignant voice of his._

_"You think you're such a hero, don't you? Tch! Just like all the rest of you Benign scum," he spat at the sidewalk, "you're all the same. You think you're so much better than us when in reality, we're all the same. We're all creatures born of hell."_

_Scapegrace still said nothing in reply to the taunting bastard who was deliberately trying to get under her skin. The man scoffed again, seeming to get a little irritated._

_"What, still got nothing to say to your old pal, Damian?" He teased. "Figures, why do I even try?"_

_Finally having enough of his belittling words, Scape charged at the man known as Damian and tackled him onto his back. He grunted from the sudden attack and Scapegrace punched at his face over and over again. Damian grabbed at her wrists and threw her to the side. As there were still many people around them, she knocked into a few of them but jumped to her feet just as quickly. As many civilians shouted obscenities at her, she pulled out her blood stained dagger once more and stabbed at his chest. He caught her arm just in time and twisted it at an incredibly odd angle. Scapegrace let out a hiss in reaction, then used her other hand to smack the side of his face with a closed fist._

_He groaned and threw her down onto the pavement again before going to stomp on her abdomen. Scapegrace managed to roll out of the way in time before Damian could get to her. She hopped back up and without warning, roundhouse kicked him across the face. Damian stumbled back, allowing for her to squeeze in yet another one along with a knee to the gut. Scape was just about to stab him when he kicked the knife out of her fist. It went clattering to the ground, leaving her unarmed. He smirked with evil intent._

_"Go home, little girl. This ain't no place for you."_

_Scape hissed furiouisly, then jabbed at his throat. He evaded the maneuver and mockingly smiled at her._

_"Face it, kid, you're never gonna be Batman, you're never gonna be the hero to save them from me...from us."_

_She was truly enraged by this point. A low rumble emitted from her diaphragm, she was a wild animal. Damian's amusement seemed to increase at this and he burst out into hysterical laughter._

_"Put your hands in the air!"_

_Scapegrace turned slowly on her heels when she heard a stern voice commanding her from behind. There before her, stood a group of five or more police officers wielding pistols all pointed at her and Damian. Some of them looked like they were on the verge of bursting into tears or even running away. Damian disregarded their demands and Scape craned her neck when he began to speak again._

_"Well I'd love to stay and have some fun but I'm afraid I just have more important business to tent to. I'll catch ya' later, Sweetheart~"_

_And with that, he disappeared off into the night, leaving no traces that he was ever there in the first place. A dangerous growl was heard from Scape in response to Damian's disappearance._

_"I said put your hands in the air!"_

_Scapegrace slowly turned her head back around to scowl at the officers, maliciously. A few of them faltered in their positions, afraid of what Scape might do to them. Her crimson eyes squinted hazardously and seemed to grow even brighter. That's when she stepped forward, ready to attack._


	2. The World Is Ugly(But You're Beautiful To Me)

When I entered in through the Academy's front gates early this morning, satchel hanging loosely over my shoulder, the very first thing to catch my attention was the many conversations among the students pertaining to the events of late last night. That damn vigilante had struck again, apparently she had killed a student from Hastings Academy, the school where I teach art at. As a result of the student's murder, a lot of kids were afraid to show up today, and for good reason. They were all afraid that this Scapegrace would come after them. Although I understand why they would think such a thing, I was pretty confident that they didn't have much to worry about. It was almost amusing to see them so riled up over this, but it was also a little nerve wracking at the same time. I just hoped that whoever this vigilante wannabe was, stayed inactive for as long as possible. 

I tried my best to ignore a pair of teenage freshmen girls gossiping about it as I made my way all the way up to my classroom on the third floor of the lego building; a large rectangular block of a structure that took a while for even me to climb sometimes. Luckily, it was pretty early in the morning and the first bell wouldn't ring for another half hour. It was the first day of school, today, I wanted to be sure that I wasn't late.

There were a few loose students meandering about here and there. They didn't acknowledge my presence and I didn't really acknowledge theirs, either. Instead, I breezed right past them and headed straight for my classroom door. I stopped for a moment and grabbed for my keys in my jeans pocket. As I was fumbling about, searching for the key to my classroom, I noticed something-er-someone out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see who it was and I saw a girl sitting about a foot from the door. She was cross legged and had her face buried in a sketchbook in her lap. I couldn't see much, except for her head of jet black hair that was pulled up into a tight bun held together by a Japanese hair pick. Sections of her black locks hung carelessly on either side of her face. She didn't pay any attention to me, she seemed to be thoroughly engrossed in that sketchbook of hers. I had to admit, I was pretty curious as to what she was working on, but I quickly turned my attention back around and finally managed to unlock the goddamn door.

I stepped inside, shutting it softly behind me and setting my satchel on the desk. It was completely empty, save for the desk tag with my first name initial and surname printed off in white.

G. Way

I shoved it to the side, tempted to just toss it in general. It annoyed me for some reason, maybe because it just seemed incomplete. If you're going to give me a name tag, then at least have the decency to print my full name. My name is Gerard, not G. Maybe I'm just being a bit of a drama queen about it, but really. Is it that difficult to do?

I grunted and tried to take my frustration level down a notch by taking a red expo marker and writing out my full name, first, middle, and last on the white board. Gerard Arthur Way. I slapped the marker down on the metallic ledge just below the board. I then opened up my satchel and pulled out my folders and notebooks and graphite pencils. In all honesty, even though I've been teaching for nearly a decade, now, I never know what to do with myself on the first day especially before it even starts. Do I just stand here awkwardly and wait for thirty minutes? Do I perform a little dance number?  
After a while of sitting in absolute silence, my mind couldn't take it anymore. I was about to yell out loud and possibly freak out everyone in the building. But then I stopped and thought back to that girl who was sitting by the door. She must have been waiting for the bell to ring so she could get to my class without having to squeeze through a tsunami of impatient teens. I stepped out of the classroom door, and lo and behold, there she was. She hasn't moved a single inch. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was a statue or something.

"Miss?" I called out quietly to her, so as not to disturb the peacefulness of the hall, though I knew it would be gone soon. The girl jumped at my voice and darter her head up to look at me with an alarmed expression. It seemed I had accidentally startled her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." I apologized. Her bright, golden brown eyes returned to normal but her body was still rigid.

"Y-Yes?" She answered in a small, timid tone. I had to strain my ears just to be able to hear her properly.

"Do you wanna just wait in here for class to start? Might be better than sitting on that uncomfortable tile floor." I offered. She opened her mouth to speak and darted her eyes from her drawing and then back to me.

"Um, tha-that's oka-"

"I really don't mind," I interrupted. "the company would be nice."

She hesitated for another moment before she squeaked out an 'okay' and promptly scrambled to her feet. I smiled warmly at her as I held the door open. She walked inside and kept her head down like she was afraid to make any eye contact with me. While she quickly made her way to a desk near the back, I got a good look at her overall appearance. The first thing I took note of was how short she was. Her head came up to about my clavicle and I mentally chuckled. She was also in a black skater skirt that went a little past her mid thigh, a dark red button up, thin black sweater and black flats adorned her feet. Her skin was also a pale ivory color. She must be from some place in Asia like Tokyo or Osaka.

The girl sat herself down at a desk and immediately re-opened her drawing pad and got back to work. I really did want to see what she was drawing, but I knew it would be rude of me if I tried to peak. I always hated it when other people tried to do that when I was drawing.

While she was busy gliding her pencil across the smooth paper, I occupied myself with the first issue of Jennifer Blood. I suppose I should do something a bit more productive until the day started, but I guess you could say I'm a bit of a child at heart. A child that smokes way too much.

After a while of even more silence, I heard the girl speak up again. She was louder than she was before, but I still had to listen closely in order to understand what she was saying.  
"I-I think you're only supposed to write your um, your last n-name." She gestured up at the white board. My eyes trailed up to the bright red letters and I tilted my head.

"Too weird?"

"A-A little." She confirmed.

I placed my comic book on my desk and stood up to erase my first and middle name. Now that I do think about it, most teachers don't do that kind of thing.  
After I was finished, I looked back at the black haired girl almost like I needed her approval, but she was back to drawing once more. I frowned and decided I should just go back to my own task, which was significantly less fruitful than hers. How ironic. I'm the art teacher here, she's the student. Shouldn't she be the one reading about a housewife/vigilante?

A few moments later, the bell finally rang and students started filing in and chattering away while they did so. It took a while for everyone to find a seat but when they did settle down, I stood from my desk and cleared my throat. Most of them turned their attention up to me and I started introducing myself and sharing a few facts about me as well. Things like this is my ninth year of teaching and how I graduated from the School of Visual Arts. I could tell that most of the students didn't care about what I had to say. In fact, the only person who paid any real attention was the girl in the back. As a result, I felt like I was only talking to her rather than a whole class. I almost asked her if she was planning on attending any art school in the future. Instead, however, I wrapped up the introductions and started to take attendance.

Most of their names were pretty common and boring. There were two Abigail's and they all had surnames like Baker and Gilmore. But there was one name on the list that stood out from the rest like a single rose in a giant meadow of dull, dead grass. It was unique, elegant, and foreign. Whoever it was, was either of a wealthy/royal backgroud or simply wasn't from New York City at all. The name left a sweet, lingering taste on my tongue and I wanted to say it again.

"Winter Kirijo."

"Here."

It was that girl, that beautiful Asian girl who I'm willing to bet is the future Hayao Miyasaki. She was the one who the name belonged to. An alluring and glamorous name that fit perfectly with an even more alluring and glamorous she-wolf.

Throughout the entirety of my first class period, I just couldn't keep my eyes off of her for more than five minutes. Every so often, I would glance in her direction while I was speaking or while everyone was working on the first assignment. Most of the time, she wasn't aware of me creepily staring at her, which I'm actually grateful for.  
As I watched and observed her for the rest of the hour, I took note of the little quirks and habits that she had. For example, how she would absentmindedly twirl her writing utensil around her fingers while she was listening to me talk, or how she would ravel a small section of hair around her finger and then unravel it when she was thinking about what to add to her, no doubt, beautiful creation. I really wasn't sure what it was that I was feeling for her. It certainly couldn't have been anything romantic, we haven't even spoken more than ten words to each other. But there was definitely something about her that pulled me in and wouldn't allow for me to leave. Not that I really wanted to.

There was something about her that made me want to get her know her more, that made me want to get down on my knees and bow down to her as if she were a queen. She certainly looked like one. That dark red lip stain that painted her lips just added that suave factor to her appearance.

As I walked slowly around the room full of working students, I sneaked a peak at her open sketchbook and was absolutely amazed at how utterly talented she was. There on the paper in front of her was a drawing of a woman in a dark kimono looking down, sorrowfully while she held a small umbrella over her head. The woman in the drawing had short hair and her robe was hanging loosely off of her shoulders. I don't think anyone else in the world would have been able to capture the pure grace of the led woman the same way that Winter Kirijo had.  
There was such fine, precise detail in the woman's face and robe and it looked as if she were about to come popping right out of the page with how real she looked. I almost had to do a double take with how astonishing the realism was. This girl was destined to be great, this much was clear to me.

I needed to know more about her.


	3. Down To Earth

I returned back home later that night after grabbing a coffee from Cafe Grumpy and was greeted by my younger brother blasting a Led Zeppelin record from the living room. I entered the area while plopping my satchel on the floor and collapsing on the leather sofa. Mikey, who was busy scribbling something down in a composition journal, turned his head and grinned a welcoming grin at me.  
"How was the first day of school, sensei?" He asked me in a fake high pitched voice. I gave him an incredulous look while shaking my head in disbelief. People always thought Mikey was a cold and aloof individual, and I guess to a certain extent, he was. But I think I'm one of the only people who really got to see just how outlandish and unorthodox his personality was.

  
"Shut the fuck up you fucking weeaboo gremlin!" I shot back. He laughed at my response and tossed the notebook to the side, giving me his full attention. Despite the fact that the question he asked wasn't meant to be serious or genuine in the slightest, it got me thinking about that one student in particular that I had in my first hour. I met and got to know many other new and returning students as the day progressed, however, none of them were even remotely comparable to the curious Asian beauty I had the pleasure of encountering this morning. Sure, I had seen, spoken to, and observed many intriguing humans over the course of seven hours, but no one came close to enticing me the same way that _Winter Kirijo_ did. Oh how I longed to see that dainty and graceful young lady soon, I wanted to sit down and have a real conversation, get inside her mind and see how her brain worked.

  
"Savage..." Mikey trailed off under his breath. I rolled my hazel colored eyes.

  
"Where the hell are you getting these weird ass words? _Sensei, senpai, yureye_ -"

  
"Yuri." He corrected me.

  
"What even _is_ that?"

  
"Lesbians."

  
"Dear god!"

  
I still didn't understand what half of those words meant. I knew there was one that meant girls somehow gaining dicks out of nowhere-I think- which I'm not sure why there would be a word for that. Furthermore, I wasn't even sure why my little brother knew what all of these meant. I always knew that I was a huge comic book nerd, but Mikey was a _special_ kind of nerd. A weeaboo, to be specific. He explained to me three years ago that it described someone who is unhealthily obsessed with the Japanese culture and often used and mispronounced dumb Japanese phrases. I quickly decided that it was the perfect nickname for him and I've been using it on him ever since. 

  
"Seriously though, how was your day?"

  
I sighed, leaning back into the sofa and running a hand through my dark hair. For a moment, I debated whether or not I should disclose my strange thoughts about Winter Kirijo, but after a minute, I shrugged my shoulders. What does it matter if he knows or not? He knows I'm not some weird pedophile creep who jerked off to pictures of underage girls.  
"It was fine, nothing too interesting happened...Although, there was this girl in my first class who caught my interest pretty quickly."

  
"Really?" Mikey raised an eyebrow and I could tell he was now curious.

  
"Yeah," I replied, "her name is Winter Kirijo."

  
I may or may not have just used this as an excuse to say her name again. It was like sucking on a sweet lollipop whenever I did. Strange comparison, I know, but I've always been known for odd metaphor's and simile's. Guess that just comes with being in this world for practically epoch's. Or I'm just a fucking weirdo. Probably the latter, more likely than not. Oh well, at least I'm not a Naruto whore.

  
"You always complain about how boring and unimaginative all of your students are, guess this is a nice change of pace, huh?"

  
"It is," I agreed with him. "It really is..."

  
"So define what you mean by interesting." My brother continued. "Did she have glitter in her hair and zebra print skin?"

  
My face contorted into one of befuddlement. Did he really just say that?

  
"Okay, I said she was interesting, not that she looked like she just came crawling out of Kesha's vagina." I corrected him.

  
"Fine then, what was it about her that caught your interest? Come on, man, don't make me guess."

  
I shook my head and rolled my eyes again. I seem to do that quite a lot whenever I'm around my little brother. But when I went to answer his question, I found myself not knowing where to begin. Do I tell him about how she was the only person in the room who seemed to give a single shit about learning art? Do I tell him about how I felt like a direful stalker when my eyes were super glued to her face the entire time? Or do I tell him about the geisha woman who pretty much came to life from her sketchbook? I just hoped to god(if there is one) that he didn't think I was in love with her. I mean, I guess I'm in love with her in a way, but not romantically. I'm in love with the way she wasn't afraid to call me weird when I wrote my full name on the white board. I was in love with the way she didn't act like an obnoxious, apathetic prick when I was trying to teach art. Basically, she wasn't a complete asshole to me and I liked that.

  
"I don't know, just her...her mannerism's in general. I guess she just reminded me of myself."

  
"So, you're in love with yourself?"

  
I knew that little fucker would say something like that.

  
"Fuck off! What I'm trying to say is that she's just not like other humans, she's not a sheep like the rest of them. I don't know, she's just-I like her."

  
"I think that's illegal, Gerard."

  
"I think you're a fucknugget, Mikey." I shot back with a sassy undertone. "I just think she's an interesting person, let's just leave it at that."

  
"Calm down, man, I know it's not like that."

  
I sighed, a bit tired and collapsed myself over Mikey's lap. He chuckled at my action and his hand ghosted over my hairline, lightly scratching and making me relax into his touch. My eyelids fell, leaving my vision blank and colorless. The only things I focused on in my mind was my brother's fingers gently going over my scalp, and thoughts of seeing Winter Kirijo again, tomorrow.  
\-----  
The next day of school came rather quickly, much to my surprise. And just as I was hoping for, Winter Kirijo was there in all her glory. She sat by the door just like yesterday morning with her sketchbook in her lap. Her hair was pulled up into the same tight bun as yesterday, except the hairpick was red instead of white. She was also in a similar outfit as well, but her shirt was different. Instead of a dark red button up blouse, it was a simple blank white t-shirt that looked a size too large for her, and her neck was covered with a black silk scarf with pink cherry blossom designs scattered around the fabric. I invited her inside once again, so she didn't have to wait in the halls. She thanked me quietly with her head hung low, avoiding eye contact with me and spent the next half hour working diligently on her art. I wondered if she was adding more to the same drawing or if she had started on a new one. Once again, my nosy persistence makes its presence known.  
Class begun, she was the only one who paid attention and I basically stared at her the whole time again. I don't think she noticed yet, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, I wasn't stealthy enough to get a glance at her work like yesterday and I was slightly disappointed.

  
As I sat back at my own desk and discreetly peeked at her from over my book, her dark, perfectly arched eyebrows were furrowed together in pure concentration, and her hand glided smoothly across the paper. I could tell that she was just so lost in her creation, especially when the bell rang-signaling the end of class. She jumped in her seat and I chuckled. The Asian beauty took one look at the clock above the white board and she looked as if she were about to have a meltdown. Her eyes were on the brink of bursting out of her skull and she instantly shot up out of her seat and made a break for the door. She only grabbed her satchel that was similar to mine and was off within a split second. I blinked in surprise. What was she in such a hurry for?

  
Just as the last student filed out of the room, I walked up to Winter Kirijo's now empty desk where her abandoned Sketchbook lay. I carefully picked it up and examined what was on the page. Just as I had suspected, there was a new piece of art done and this time, it wasn't that beautiful kimono woman that I saw yesterday. Instead, I saw someone much more dangerous and menacing. Someone who I had yet to encounter thus far. Someone who I had only caught a glimpse of out of the corner of my eye. Someone who everyone was fearful of.

  
It was Scapegrace.

  
It was that same madman(or woman, rather) that terrorized the streets of New York City every single night. It was a drawing of her in all black, crouching like a gargoyle on top of a building ledge. She had on that same black and red biohazard designed respirator mask and splotchy face paint covering the majority of her skin that I've seen on the news. What little patches of skin that could be seen were the same color as the paper just like in real life. No one could ever really see what her face looked like, but from what little we could see, she was extremely pale in complexion. Because of this, the way her ruby eyes glowed in the dark as enhanced and much more horrifying. Winter Kirijo was the best at capturing Scapegrace's malice and horror just like she captured that kimono woman's magnificence.

  
Curiosity soon got the best of me and I found myself flipping through the rest of her sketchbook. I know that I shouldn't be, but I just can't help it. I had to see more.  
With the exception of the kimono woman from the day before, the entire sketchbook was filled with drawings of Scapegrace. Some of them portrayed the vigilante as she was in action, swinging a dagger or shooting a pistol at unsuspecting victims. Some of them were profile views of her, and some were just of her scowling over the city, waiting for the next chance to attack. I felt dumbfounded as I flipped through them all. What was Winter Kirijo's obsession with the criminal they all called Scapegrace?


	4. Waiting For a Friend

I ended up keeping Winter Kirijo's sketchbook with me until the next day of school when I would see her next. I must have spent at least two hours last night looking through and analyzing each and every drawing of Scapegrace and her crimes. They were wonderful works of art, don't get me wrong, and I absolutely loved laying my eyes upon what she created. But I couldn't help but question as to why she seemed to be so obsessed with this criminal. It baffled me to no end, and to a certain extend, it creeped me out. But to be fair, I am also pretty fucking creepy myself. 

The book of drawings was stashed safely in my satchel and I made sure that no one came near it, not even Mikey. I planned on giving it back to her the next time I saw her, which was hopefully sooner rather than later. I'll bet anything she's worried sick that some punk degenerate somehow got a hold of it and is defiling it at this very moment. I know I would be. I remember once in my junior year of high school, an old friend who I no longer speak to had hidden my drawing pad from me as a joke. He later went home with a black eye. 

I was on my way up to the lego building, expecting to see that mysterious Asian beauty to be waiting by the door as usual. But much to my surprise, she was walking a good thirty feel ahead of me and I saw this as an opportunity to talk to her some more. From back here, I could see that her hair wasn't in that fancy tight bun but was hanging down over her shoulders freely and was complimented with a bright red headband. I thought she looked beautiful with her hair up and done, but I think I liked it a lot better when she allowed it to dance elegantly along with the wind. Without another thought, I started to pick up my pace in the hopes of catching up to her when I noticed that two other boys had beaten me to the punch. 

One of them wrapped his arm around her shoulders while the other walked backwards in front of her. Even from all the way back here, I could tell that they were not being too friendly toward her, and she looked uncomfortable. She squirmed, attempting to get the strange boys' hands off of her. 

"What's wrong, baby girl? Don't you like it when I touch you?" I heard him say, lust stitched into his tone. 

"Or would you much rather prefer me?" The other one wiggled his thick eyebrows before wrapping a hand around her petite waist.

"P-Please stop..." Winter Kirijo said in a small voice. I could tell she wanted to be louder than that, but I guess she was just afraid to. I wondered why that was.

"Don't be like that babe, we know you love it." 

Winter struggled to pry their hands off of her, and with each second I watched them try and feel her up, I felt myself grow more and more livid. My nostrils flared and my knuckles were clenched and trembling with fury. All the while, they both took turns saying highly inappropriate and vulgar sentences to her and she kept trying to get away from them. They refused to let her escape. I think I just about lost it when one of their hands came down harshly on her ass. She stopped dead in her tracks with a high pitched squeal. I couldn't stand here and watch these damn pricks harass her any longer. I took a deep breath and shouted to them as loudly as I could, which was pretty fuckin' loud if I do say so myself. It even scared me, sometimes. But not now. 

"HEY!!" 

They all jumped and the boys turned to look at me with guilty expressions plastered on their face. Winter stayed in her spot and didn't dare make a single move. I could just smell the fear radiating off of her and I suddenly wanted to wrap her up in a blanket and protect her from anything that could possibly pose a threat

 Once I reached to where they stood, I snatched both of their collar's and pulled them closer to my lips. 

"You ever fucking touch any woman like that, I will personally castrate the both of you and hand your severed dicks over your parents fireplace!" 

"Get your hands off of me old man!" 

I suddenly tightened my grip of fuckboy #1 and he let out an awful choking sound. 

"Now get lost! And if I ever see you come near her again, so help me god..."

I shoved them roughly away and fuckboy #2 nearly face planted the asphalt. I would have liked to see that. Actually, in this moment, I would have liked to see him suffer much, much worse. But they both ran off before I could do or say anything else. I was left seething like there was no tomorrow. How dare they...Weren't they ever taught not to handle a woman like that!? Hell, I know I'm not the most polite or chivalrous person in the world but at least I know how to treat a lady!

They all jumped and the boys turned to look at me with guilty expressions plastered on their face. Winter stayed in her spot and didn't dare make a single move. I could just smell the fear radiating off of her and I suddenly wanted to wrap her up in a blanket and protect her from anything that could possibly pose a threat

 Once I reached to where they stood, I snatched both of their collar's and pulled them closer to my lips. 

"You ever fucking touch any woman like that, I will personally castrate the both of you and hand your severed dicks over your parents fireplace!" 

"Get your hands off of me old man!" 

I suddenly tightened my grip of fuckboy #1 and he let out an awful choking sound. 

"Now get lost! And if I ever see you come near her again, so help me god..."

I shoved them roughly away and fuckboy #2 nearly face planted the asphalt. I would have liked to see that. Actually, in this moment, I would have liked to see him suffer much, much worse. But they both ran off before I could do or say anything else. I was left seething like there was no tomorrow. How dare they...Weren't they ever taught not to handle a woman like that!? Hell, I know I'm not the most polite or chivalrous person in the world but at least I know how to treat a lady!

After a while, I managed to calm down slightly and I turned to see Winter was still in the same position. I looked up and saw her hands clutching tightly onto the strap of her satchel, her head was tilted downward and her eyes were the size of the moon. Her face was also beet red, and when I went to place my hand on her shoulder, I was able to feel her shaking pretty hard before she flinched. I retracted my hand back.

"Ms. Kirijo?" I spoke softly to her. It took a moment for my voice to finally register in her mind, but when it did, her head turned sharply to me and her dark brown, nearly black orbs returned to normal for the most part. Still, she had that deer-in-headlights look that made me gush on the inside. "Ms. Kirijo, are you okay?"

She nodded, but I knew she was still a bit traumatized by what happened. It sounded like it hurt, too. I wanted to ask how badly, but considering he smacked her ass, I don't think she'd be very comfortable in answering that question.

"Come with me," I beckoned calmly. I nudged my head towards the direction of the lego building and she followed me all the way up to the third floor just like I told her to. I opened the door after first unlocking it and let her enter first. She went to go to her desk near the back, but I stopped her by laying a hand on her shoulder. She still flinched but not as hard. "Hey," I called. She turned to face me, and just as she always did, she refused to make eye contact with me.

"Have those boys been messing with you in the past?"

She was reluctant to answer, but nodded nevertheless. I sighed. I then grabbed both of her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. She didn't look back, instead, she focused her sight on the bottom of my chin.

"If they ever bother you again, or even if they just _look_ at you the wrong way, you come to me and I'll make sure they can't reproduce, understand?"

Winter seemed to be a little off-put by what I just said, especially since I was her teacher. I just hoped I hadn't scared her too much. I don't think I did, for she ended up nodding along to my words while she crossed her arms over her chest in a sheepish manner. I tried to bring her a sense of comfort by smiling kindly down at her. It was hesitant and pretty small, but somehow, she smiled back at me. I soon released my grip on her shoulders and an idea popped into my head.

"Oh, hold up." I held my index finger up for a moment before I reached in and dug into my satchel where I kept her drawing pad safe and sound. Once I had slipped it out into the open, she caught a glimpse of it and her eyes lit up with relief and alleviation. I grinned as I placed it into her hands and she hugged it close to her chest like it was a stuffed animal or something.

"Thank you!" She squealed adorably. "I was scared I somehow dropped it on the sidewalk or something, thank you so much!"

I think this is the loudest I've heard her speak so far, and I offered her a warm grin.

\-----

**Winter Kirijo's POV**

After a long day at school, the bell rang throughout campus and snapped me out of my train of thought. I was in the middle of doing yet another drawing of Scapegrace when class ended and I wasted no time in leaving so fast as possible. But this time, I made sure I had my sketchbook with me. I just about had a damn heart attack when I came home yesterday and I didn't have it with me. Thank god Mr. Way was nice enough to keep it safe until class the next day. Well, that and rescuing me from those filthy delinquents outside the lego building. I don't even know who those boys are, but they've been messing with me ever since I was a little freshman. For three years, They've been treating me like a whore and putting their hands in inappropriate places. Like today. I'm pretty sure Mr. Way saw one of those boys spank me and that's probably why he chased them away. I have to say, it was kind of embarrassing, but at least he didn't say anything about it.

It was a giant relief when he basically saved me from them and gave me back my precious sketchbook. He assured me that he didn't look through it, that he only saw the one that it was already opened to, which I'm not sure I entirely believe him. But it's not a big deal, even if he was lying. Worst case scenario, he now thinks I'm the strangest person on earth because literally every single page (save for one) contained a picture of the vigilante, Scapegrace. But it's not like his opinion of me matters that much. After all, he's just my art teacher. It's not like he was some famous rock star or something. Wouldn't _that_ be something?

I took everything I had out and put it all in my satchel before I swam through the wave of students, carefully dodging having to interact with any of them. My eyes were glued to the ground the entire time until I had successfully resurfaced. When I was a few miles off campus, I took a left and instead of heading straight home, I started making my way to the cemetery.

The cemetery...where my only friend now resided. I treated lightly across the grass until I approached a fairly new looking headstone with the words _Naomi Dawson_ permanently etched into the surface. I stared sorrowfully down for a while, not saying a word. 

This was probably the thousandth time I've come to see her and yet, each time I show up, I never know what to say. I've tried telling her about what's going on in my life, but soon scratched that seeing as how I don't live a very interesting life. I go to school, I come home, I lock myself in my room and listen to music until I go to sleep, wake up and repeat the cycle over and over again. I get bored just thinking about it. So why would she want to hear about it? I've tried bringing with me some of the stories I've written and tried reading them to her, but I felt amazingly stupid while doing so. I can't tell you how many odd looks I've received from a multitude of passerby's while basically talking to myself in front of my only friend's grave.

I usually wouldn't care what anyone else thought of me, but ever since she died, my self esteem had plummeted like a train off a cliff. Now I get nervous and jittery whenever I have to talk to anyone other than my mother whereas before, I could have walked through the city stark naked and not give a damn. The sad thing is, I never used to be like this. With her around, I was confident, I was happy. She taught me how to love myself.

But when she died, every shred of joy I had ever felt went with her.


	5. All I Want Is Nothing

**Gerard Way's POV.**

It was now the third day of school and just like the past two days in the morning, Winter was sat near my classroom door and I always invited her in to wait with me. She didn't say much and I didn't know how to initiate a conversation, so we were stuck sitting in silence until the day finally began. When she exited after I was done teaching, she shot me a soft smile before going off to her next period. I smiled back at her and I felt a little spark of hope start to brew in my chest at the thought of growing close to her as a friend. I can't begin to express just how much I wanted to probe her mind and see how her brain worked. I realize this makes me sound like some sort of mad scientist, but I can assure that I don't want to cut her skull open and poke around inside her head with a scalpel. What I mean when I say I want to probe her mind, is I want to get to know her as a person. I want to find out more about her personality, how her emotions worked and what her thought process in general was.

It was lunch time by now, and I was left by myself for the time being. I wasn't sure what to do with myself, and I wasn't in the mood to sit the the classroom and do nothing the entire time. I had gone down to the cafeteria to pick up a can of Pepsi (or anything with caffeine) and go back to my desk on the third floor when I stopped in one of the halls. There was Winter, a few feet away sitting cross legged with her sketchbook in her lap like usual. Her hair fell down to conceal the majority of her face so I couldn't see it that well, other than the sharp, elegant point of her nose and a tiny glimpse of her dark red lips. I sucked in a deep breath and waltzed up to greet her.

She noticed my shoes in her line of sight and trailed her gaze to see me looking curiously at her. She grinned softly up at me like this morning and offered a small wave of her hand. I waved back and crouched down so it didn't seem like I was towering over her.

"Hey," I started. She let out a small "Hi" in return.

"So, I've noticed you're always sitting here alone," I continued. I noticed her tense up a bit, so i quickly got on to the point so I didn't seem like I was making fun of her for not having many friends. That was most certainly not what I wanted it to seem like; I remember when I was her age, I didn't have many friends either and there's nothing inherently wrong with that. I think the only person who I was friends with in high school was my brother, and even then I didn't get to see him throughout most of the day since he is a few years younger then I am.

"If you want-you don't have to-but if you want, you can come hang out in the classroom with me. I know being around so many loud teens can be overwhelming." I suggested. She seemed to consider my words and glanced down at her drawing pad. She soon nodded enthusiastically and I beamed happily. I stood up to my feet and lowered my hand out for her to take. She was hesitant in doing so at first, but eventually she accepted and I could feel her chilly skin on mine. I helped her up and lead her back to the art classroom.

When we got there, I held the door open for her as usual, and she thanked me and walked in with her head down. I almost expected for her to head straight for her desk at the back, but much to my surprise and pleasure, she simply set her things down on top of one of the desks that was in the front row. The satchel she had was hanging loosely off the back of the chair and the sketchbook was set on the corner of the surface.

I took a seat on top of my own larger desk with my legs crossed and took out one of my many comic books. I tried to keep my mind wrapped around the story it told, but I could not, for the life of me, focus one bit. My ability to concentrate on _Batman: The Killing Joke_ was overlapped by my desire to get to better know the Asian beauty sitting here in front of me. I just longed to hear her smooth and perfectly pitched voice speak again. 

"You're a very talented artist." I said out of nowhere. She snapped her head up to look at me with wide, Zooey Deschanel-esque eyes. It was adorable, the way she seemed so shocked that I'd say something like that.

"Oh-th-thank you." Winter replied, obviously taken off guard. I chuckled at her nervousness and set down my comic book right next to me, not even bothering to bookmark my place.

"From that one picture I saw yesterday, I think you'd even surpass da Vinci by the time you graduate this Academy."

She scoffed at my words and shook her head. Closing the sketchbook, she turned her attention towards me once more.

"I-I wouldn't go as far as to say that, I-I mean, i-it's da Vinci, after all."

"True, but you know what I mean." I replied. I meant it, too. Though I was lying when I said I'd only seen that one drawing of hers, if I hadn't been nosy and looked through her sketchbook I would still be able to see just how talented she was. I still get chills just thinking about how scarily realistic and life like that kimono woman was. It also made me wonder if she was based off of a real person she knew.

"So, I never see you hanging out with anyone else, at least during school. Do you just prefer to be alone rather than hang out with friends or..." I trailed off. Again, I realize that this question may seem like I'm taunting or making fun of her for being alone most of the time. But that wasn't my intention in the slightest, and I hoped she knew this. I was just curious, I wanted to know why she never seemed to want to hang out with any of the other students.

Thankfully, she didn't take it that way.

"Well, I-I do have one friend, but she-uh she's not exactly here right now."

I became even more curious than I was before. She's not exactly here right now, that could mean so many things, and I wanted an answer. I felt like I was reading a new comic book that I'd never heard of before, I wanted to continue turning her pages no matter how torn or frayed they were. I wanted the full experience of her story, I wanted to really know her. Not just as another one of my students, but as a friend. A big part of me sensed that she had gone through some shit in the past, like I did. And for a reason I almost couldn't fathom, I felt connected to her on a deeper level than just being attracted to her (which I'll admit, I kind of was. But sue me, she was prettier than most women I came across and she didn't act like a selfish cunt-shit like all the rest of the students). No, I felt connected to her in a-how shall I put this...cosmic way? I honestly couldn't say, but it was there nevertheless.

"And where is your friend today?" I casually asked. She opened her mouth to answer, but seemed to stutter over her words before she even began to say them. I was honestly expecting for her to say that this friend of hers was absent most of the time or was just never there during lunch. Or maybe even that this friend didn't go to Hastings Academy at all in the first place. But judging on how the way she hesitated to answer my simple question, neither of those possibilities were applicable here.

"Um...She-she was killed a-about a year ago." Winter finally answered. If I had a cup of coffee in my hands right now, I would have dropped it to the ground in pure astonishment...and guilt. I felt a sharp pain in my chest from hearing this news and things started to make more sense in regards to what I know so far about Winter's personality. She was skittish and easily startled, more so than anyone else I've ever come across, and she stammered more often than not when speaking. Hell, she couldn't even make eye contact with me. And I think I may have found the source of all these tragically uncontrollable flaws.

Of course, I still don't know the full story and I didn't know the full circumstances of her only friends' death. I could be wrong for all I know, but I had a strong feeling that I wasn't.

"Oh...honey..." I slowly hopped off of my desk and crouched down again near her desk. Despite her despaired tone of voice, she didn't look all that saddened. But I knew from experience that it was killing her inside. I took a leap of faith in this moment and I decided to ask a question that could potentially be very triggering to her. "You don't have to tell me if you're at all uncomfortable...But, may I ask what happened?"

She sucked in a quick breath of air but didn't refuse to say anything. I know I should just drop this, it's none of my business and I could be digging up old, scarring memories that she has been working hard to rid herself of. But I couldn't help it. I wanted...No...I needed to know more. It was like a movie that had me on the edge of my seat with my fingernails being gnawed off by my teeth. I needed more.

"I-It's a long story, but she...We were on a date one night...and I-I guess we were just e-easy targets."

Easy targets?

"We were m-mugged. Neither of us had a-any money, and she t-tried to defend me, but..."

Without her having to finished the rest of the story, I managed to piece it together anyhow. They were on a date, they were mugged, her friend (or I guess girlfriend, she did say they were on a date) wanted to defend her but ended up getting killed in the process. Probably shot since they were mugged. I understood now, and I took the liberty of placing my hand on her arm, which lay dormant on her desk. She clutched a pencil tightly in her grip and I noticed she had started to shake slightly. I knew bringing this up would be a bad idea. God, I'm such an idiot! I should have just shut my mouth and not said a word. Maybe then, she wouldn't be on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Hey, hey I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked-"

"N-No it's okay, really. I-It's been a year, I'm okay." I saw her wipe away a stray tear and the guilt brewing inside of me suddenly grew into a wildfire I couldn't contain. I swiftly stood up and without thinking, I encased the upper half of her body into my embrace. She stiffened significantly and I considered the thought of just letting her go, maybe she didn't want me to to something like this. Maybe she wasn't one for physical affection, especially from her teacher of all people.

She didn't tell me to get off, though, so I took that as permission to continue hugging her. I cradled her head into one of my hands while my other one rested along her upper back. My chin rested on top of her head of jet black hair and eventually, she came to hug me back. It was soft, and it was subtle, but it made me smile nevertheless.

"I know what it's like to lose someone that close to you. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always here. I know I might just be your art teacher and I might come across as a little creepy-which I really hope I don't-but I'll be here if you ever need someone to be there for you."

Her own grip on me tightened a little bit and we must have sat there for at least ten minutes in each others arms. She was the first to pull away and on instinct, I almost pulled her back in. But I restrained myself and instead, went back to my previous position of crouching in front of her and placed my elbows on the wood, resting my chin in my hands. Her eyes were a bit red and bloodshot and I handed her a tissue from on my workplace. She took it gratefully and wiped at her face. Her eyeliner and mascara were both smudged but even through that, I still thought she looked absolutely stunning.

"You said y-you knew what it was like to l-lose someone dear to you...I ho-hope you don't mind me asking, what happened with, um...with-"

"With my friend?" I finished for her. She nodded in confirmation and I tilted my head a bit. It's been a while since I've spoken of him, and what went down between us, and truth be told I wasn't sure if I was ready to, but it was only fair I suppose. She told me about what happened with her best friend, or possibly her girlfriend. I would feel like a huge asshole if I refused to tell my story as well.

"Well I can't say what happened with me was nearly as tragic as what you've just shared with me...But I had a falling out with my then best friend a few years ago. His name is Frank...and we were best friends for over ten years before we just...I don't know if we just grew apart, had too different views on life or we just weren't meant to know each other. But we had a huge fight, which resulted in both of us not speaking to each other. It's been at least three years now, I haven't heard anything from him and vice versa..."

It sounded pathetic in comparison to what she just told me. I lost my best friend to a mere disagreement while she lost hers to a cold hearted man or woman who was after nothing but money. They didn't have control over the situation. We did. We could have easily set aside our differences and just moved past it like normal, mature adults. But I guess we both just have a ton of growing up to do. I mean, hell, I've been on this earth for longer than I count. Literally, I've long since forgotten how old I am because it has been that long. But in spite of that, I still felt like a fresh adult who just moved out of his mother's basement. If I'm being quite honest, our falling out was more likely than not, all my fault. I've always been a bit underdeveloped when it came to maintaining a regular friendship, even as a child.

Winter stood from her seat after I got done explaining my story and she cautiously wrapped her arms around my torso and pressed her head into my chest. I didn't dither in the slightest in hugging her back just as tight, if not, tighter than she did to me. I needed this and she sensed this. Frank was my absolute best friend, me was like a brother to me. Of course, he would never replace Mikey, no one could ever replace that amazing anime-obsessed little nerd. But Frank was still family to me and it killed me every single day that he wasn't with me.

There was one thing that Winter Kirijo and I had in common. We both lost someone who meant the world to us. Although I felt a little bad in comparing my loss with hers, because I wasn't even sure I could call it a real loss. We had a falling out. Meaning: we no longer speak to each other. Winter lost her girlfriend for good. There's was no chance of ever getting her back, and because of that, I felt compelled to get close to her even more. I have a strong feeling that that death has impacted her in more ways than one. I can tell she was permanently scarred from that incident and there was essentially no recovering from that. How could anyone recover from something like that at all?

My hold on her tautened and I found myself never wanting to let go. I needed this, of course I did. But I'm more than certain that she needed this more.

I was right about her all along. She wasn't just another typical high school student who lived for social media and all of the bullshit it spewed out on a daily basis. She wasn't just your average teenage girl with a boyfriend on the football team or an obsession with Starbucks and ugg boots. She was someone with a very extensive past and someone with wounds weren't just skin deep. In short, she reminded me a lot of myself, as I've mentioned before.

I needed to know her full story.


	6. Vampires Will Never Hurt You

**Winter Kirijo's POV**

About a week and a half has gone by since school first started and I became well acquainted with my art teacher, Mr. Way. Well, pretty quickly, quicker than I ever imagined, our simple acquaintance had developed into a full blown friendship.

A friendship. Wow. I never thought I'd say those words about another person after my only friend was ripped away from me by the hands of a cold hearted killer. But lo and behold, here we are a year later and I've now become friends with my art teacher, of all people. I guess it's a little sad if you think about it. No one else really likes me, they get pretty tired of how pathetically shy I am, and how you have to constantly strain your ears just to hear what I'm saying. I'm not stupid, I know everyone thinks I'm a damn child or something. I wish I wasn't like this, maybe then, not as many people would think of me as someone who couldn't even make simple eye contact with someone. Maybe then, more people would like me as a person.

It's a miracle, really, that Mr. Way has taken such an interest in me. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I would have spent at least the majority of my junior year in solitude; talking to no one but my teachers, myself and my mother. Not even my mother. She and I barely talk and when we do, it's never a real conversation. It always goes something like:

_"Coffee?"_

_"Sure."_

And that would be the end of it. To tell you the truth, we're less like mother and daughter and more like a couple of roommates who have better things to do than interact with each other. How pathetic, not even my own mother likes me. That's why I'm so grateful that Mr. Way seems to like me so much. Although, me told me to just call him Gerard when we weren't in class. That's going to take some getting used to, but I guess it would be a bit odd to resume addressing him as Mr. Way when we were trying to hang out together casually.

Speaking of which, _Gerard_ and I have been doing just that over the course of the next week or so. It started off as just being in the classroom together before school and during lunch. But not long after we exchanged stories of how we lost our friends, we started getting together off campus as well. Not like a date or anything, dear god it wasn't a date. We would just stop by Cafe Grumpy for some coffee and/or he would give me a ride home since I usually walked most of the time. My mother could never pick me up because of her work schedule and she always has to drop me off super early in the morning. That's why I'm always at school before even most of the teachers. 

In the short span of time that Gerard and I have been friends, we've learned a lot about each other. For instance, I learned that he had a passion for music and comic books and art in general, and that he has a brother named Mikey who he currently shares an apartment with. In return, I've also let him in on my love for Bowie and other things such as anime and manga. He made a remark after I told him I was obsessed with Studio Ghibli about how Mikey and I would get along great together. I guess his brother really likes anime as well.

It was a fairly sunny day out today as I stood by the Academy's main gate with my satchel attached to my side as it always was. Gerard wanted to go get some coffee today after school again, and since my life is pretty boring and uneventful, I had no other plans so I happily accepted the invitation. He told me he had a few things to take care of before he left, but that he would meet me here as soon as possible. I think I've been waiting for maybe five minutes at the most, and my mind began to wander off. I soon became lost in my train of thought, thinking about what my next drawing of Scapegrace would be, in fact I became to lost that I barely noticed when a small group of senior boys approached me with ill minded eyes and shark tooth grins. I didn't snap back into reality until one of them roughly put their hand around my waist and another put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey there, sweetheart~" the boy who's hand was on my waist greeted. I cringed as I could very clearly smell tobacco on his breath. I shouldn't be bothered by that, seeing as how I sometimes have a smoke here and there to calm my nerves, but I always brushed my teeth or chewed some gum at the very least. I always hated the smell of cigarette breath.

"Um...H-Hi." I replied awkwardly while absentmindedly wiggling myself out of their grip. They noticed what I was trying to do and only tightened their hands. I gasped slightly at this, and cursed myself for being such an easy fucking target. I also found myself mentally praying to Gerard to show up within the next thirty seconds and chase these boys off, because I knew he would. But at the same time, I can't just rely on someone else to save me from these kinds of things all the time, now can I?

"We've noticed you hanging around that old ass art teacher lately, why don't you ditch him and come have some fun with us instead, huh?" the boy who had his hand on my shoulder offered. I shook my head sheepishly, all the while still trying to get their hands off of me. I felt repulsed by their touch alone, there was no way I was gonna go off with them. I know how these kids are, and they'll only bring trouble.

God I sound like such a mom, don't I?

"I-I think I'm o-okay." I stuttered. Great. Now was one of the many times when I wish I didn't have this stupid stuttering problem. It's not even a problem really, because I only stutter around people I don't know well. It usually goes away when I get comfortable with someone, but I sure as hell wasn't comfortable with these two filthy gremlins.

"Come on, you don't wanna be around someone so bleh!"

"Yeah, plus we know how you really are."

"How I really a-am?" What the fuck did they mean by that?

"Of course! We saw how you acted back when you were dating that chick, oh what was her name...Melanie?"

"Naomi!" I finally had enough of this and I ripped their arms away from me and stomped my feet. How dare they bring her up, and in such a disrespectful manner!

"Ooh! Kitty's got claws!"

"G-Go away!" I shouted. As I yelled at them, I felt a familiar tingling sensation in my eyes and my heart dropped. No...This couldn't be happening, not now of all times. No, please, anything but this!

"Aww, is kitty gonna cry now?" the one who had his arm around waist taunted me, cruelly. This only prompted for my tears to become more prominent and without warning, they overflowed down onto my cheeks and I could barely hold back my sobs. How fucking pathetic.

"We'll catch ya' later baby. Looks like you're not in the mood today~" the other boy said. And with that, they walked away, leaving me alone with my tears. I tried desperately to wipe them away and get rid of any evidence that I had been crying at all. The last thing I needed was for Gerard to come down here only to find me sobbing like a little child. It was just my luck, though, because soon after the boys left I heard his smooth yet raspy voice speaking to me and I felt his hand making its way onto my shoulder.

"Hey, Winter, what's wrong?" he inquired. I gave up in wiping away my pouring tears and instead, did my best not to sob so loudly. It worked a little bit, though they still came out in soft gasps and hiccups. My back was currently to Gerard on purpose, I didn't want him to see me like this. So despaired and so...vulnerable. I felt like he was belittling me for this already, but in my right mind I knew he probably wasn't like that. The fear was still there, however.

"Winter, sweetie." he walked around to stand in front of me when I still didn't say anything and he saw me with my face buried into the sleeves of my black hoodie. "Honey what happened? You can tell me."

I couldn't pull myself together for the life of me, and I think Gerard realized this. He pulled me in for a tight hug and ran his fingers up and down my hair at a leisurely pace. I managed to calm down a bit while he just held me and hummed a tune under his breath. I recognized it as Blue Oyster Cult's _Don't Fear The Reaper_. This helped a lot in making my sobs die down, for this song has always been like a lullaby to me ever since I was a baby. My mother even once told me that she would play it for me whenever I couldn't sleep or when I was just sad in general. I guess it worked wonders in lifting my spirits, so it was kind of a funny coincidence that he chose this song to hum. But I certainly wasn't complaining. I hugged him back and sniffled every now and then, but I wasn't anywhere near as hysterical as I was a few moments ago.

What was it about this man that brought a tidal wave of tranquility and zen to my system whenever I was near him? I'm pretty sure it isn't normal to be this close to a teacher, especially only after a week and a half of school. But it wasn't like he wanted to sleep with me or anything. We were friends and nothing more. Yet even so, just being near him brought down my anxiety levels drastically. It wasn't like this at first, at first he was nothing more than just another one of my teachers who would only dismiss me and pay me no mind. But I'm glad that I was oh so wrong in that assumption.

He continued to hold me tight and stroke my hair until I was calm enough to tell him what was wrong. Though I wasn't sure I wanted to. It was actually a little embarrassing, crying just because those two awful boys took a jab at my dead friend. It wasn't even a jab, really. They just _mentioned_ her in a way that I was not comfortable with, and it just...It got to me more than I cared to admit.

"I'm sorry-I'm s-sorry." I apologized immensely and he gently shushed me until my apologies lessened out and eventually, stopped entirely.

"What happened, honey?" he queried sweetly. I struggled with my words for another few moments before his hand stopped along the back of my head. His mouth was just inches away from my ear when he said to me in a low, hushed tone of voice.

"It wasn't those boys again, was it?"

I tensed up significantly when he suggested this, mainly because he was clearly on the right track. It was those boys, it was always those boys. Ever since I was fourteen years old, they've always done their best to make my school life a living hell. At first, I thought it was because they somehow had a thing for me, maybe they liked me, and they were acting like elementary kids by treating me like shit because of this. But I cast that theory aside when their torment just got worse with each passing week. It no longer was a matter of 'hey maybe they want to date me or something', no, they were purposely torturing me every chance they got for a different reason. One I couldn't care less to find out about anymore. The only thing I want from them at this point is for them to just leave me alone once and for all. It's not like I ever did anything to them, anyway. I'm just another student at the academy looking to graduate with good grades and go on to pursue my dream of being a musician.

I felt like a child while doing so, but I nodded my head slowly against Gerard's chest and his arms around my tightened even more if it were even possible. He cooed to me once more with comforting words and eventually led me outside of campus where his Sedan was parked.

"Don't worry, Winter. I'll see to it that they don't even walk the same path as you."

\-----

**Gerard Way's POV**

It just about shattered my heart when I came down from my classroom to see the wonderful Mr. Kirijo in tears. I found her crying into her black hoodie and eventually found out it was the doing of those two miscreants. When I asked Winter what they did exactly, she said it was something to do with them bringing up her dead girlfriend into the conversation in a way that felt demeaning and disrespectful. She then went on to apologize for being so sensitive, but I quickly shushed her in those apologies and assured to her that there was no need for such a thing. God knows I am the same way more often than not. Although, I'm not much of a crier. Instead of bursting out into tears, I usually resort to violent, angry tactics, which is arguably a lot worse. I can't help it, though. I'm just naturally overprotective over the people I care about. One time when Mikey was a sophomore, some little punk ass kid had the audacity to continuously steal his lunch money every single day. I know, it sounds like a cliche from every other teen angst film, but it happened, and I put that punk ass kid in the hospital.

No one fucks with my brother and gets away with it, and the same thing applies to Winter Kirijo, now.

I ended up buying her a cup of coffee (to which she tried to pay for herself, but I wouldn't let her) and gave her a ride back home. It now had to be at least nine in the evening, and I was dressed in all black while I kept myself hidden in the shadows. I almost felt like Scapegrace when I did this, but I can assure you I was not out to kill anyone. I didn't know those boys too well, I didn't even know their names. But I did know that they were infamous for being party animals and night owls. I constantly overhear them bragging to other students about how many clubs they can manage to squeeze into or how many laws they get away with breaking.

I knew their type, and I knew exactly where they would be tonight in New York City.

It wasn't that difficult at all to track them down in their movements, and I had successfully been following them around for the past hour or so. Those two gremlins have been wandering around the whole city, causing trouble and mayhem. Personally, I couldn't give a shit less about what they did or who they fucked or whatever. But what I did give a shit about, was the fact that they made Winter cry. And for that, they had to be punished.

The two boys whose names I've learned are Ronnie and Aaron were on their way back from shoplifting like petty thieves, bragging to each other about how much loot they snagged. I rolled my eyes at practically every other sentence they spewed out to each other. It always had something to do with committing even more petty crimes. I can't believe these kids are even still in school.

I followed them both out to a rather secluded part of the city where vehicles and passerby's were few, and where lowlifes came out to play. The potent stench of strong liquor and shit quality cigarette's stung my nostrils and it almost made me retreat back home to where I had my own cigarette's, better cigarette's. But I had a job to do, and I intended to get it done.

Ronnie and Aaron made their way down the sidewalk, still yet unaware that I was trailing right behind them on their heels. I smirked at the mere thought of how terrified they would be once I was through with them. After tonight, they won't ever dare even look in Winter Kirijo's direction.

The boys were in the middle opening up a bottle of cheap whiskey when I decided that now was when I wanted to come out of the shadows. With the collar of trench coat popped up and my hands buried deep in my pockets, I called out to them in a calm yet threatening voice. They turned around when they heard me and exchanged incredulous looks when they saw that it was me.

"Did you follow us or some shit, you creepy old man!?" Aaron accused. My smirk widened and I stepped closer into their proximity. They instinctively backed up, but I persisted.

"What the fuck do you want!" Ronnie shouted.

"I just wanna have a little _chat_ with you two, that's all." I drawled. Their incredulous expressions faded out and were replaced with almost fearful ones. I stepped even closer, now, and with the strength that clearly didn't belong to a human, I snatched them both by the collar of their shirt's like I did just over a week before. Except this time, it was even harder because we weren't on school property anymore. I didn't have to worry about another teacher or other staff member walking up and reporting me for physically assaulting the students. Even though they basically assaulted an innocent girl who was just trying to make it to her first class.

"Hey, what's your deal!? Get lost!!" They both tried to wriggle out of my grasp, and one of them even kicked at my leg. But that maneuver was pathetically predictable and I beat him to the punch-or kick. My foot practically crushed his calf and he nearly collapsed onto his knees.

"Don't worry, this won't take too long." I said as they both screamed and cursed at me, throwing juvenile insults like baseballs at my face. They didn't have any effect on me, though. My hands tensed around their collars to the point where I was nearly strangling them, but I at least made sure they could breath a little bit. I then pulled them up close to my face and growled lowly. "Listen, and listen closely you little sack of _shits_!" I began. They smelled like shit, too. "I don't give a fuck what you do in your spare time, I don't give a fuck what crimes you do or don't commit-"

"Get your hands off-" I cut off Ronnie's breath altogether he choked awfully.

"If I ever hear from Ms. Kirijo that you've upset her in any way whatsoever! then there will be severe consequences...Understand!?"

"What the fuck are you gonna do, give us another detention or something? Please!!"

My anger level reached an all time high at that boy's words and I slammed both of their bodies into a concrete building. Their heads went bouncing off the walls and they groaned in agony. At the same time, my teeth clenched and my eyes began to glow at an unnaturally bright and sinister shade of crimson red. My teeth elongated into two deadly, razor sharp canines that caught these kids' attention instantaneously. I'm sure they wanted to demand of me what I was exactly, but due to the little amount of air I was letting them breathe, they couldn't even wheeze out a single syllable. I got even closer to their faces, my own breath tickling their cheeks.

"You boys don't realize the damage I am capable of. I am something more than human, and something you really shouldn't be testing." I warned them. I could tell my words were starting to sink into their brains, and their eyes widened to the size of Jupiter. Mouth's wide open and struggling to drag in a breath, I continued in my little monologue.

"I am truly a force to be reckoned with. If I find out you've disobeyed my orders, I'll make a feast out of your rotting corpse..."

They stared back at me, tears welling in one of the boys' eyes. I smirked and almost laughed out loud at this. It was only fair that I make them cry just as they've done to Winter. Although I was highly tempted to do more than just get them to cry. I wanted nothing more than to dismember them right here and now. To rip their heads off their bodies and put them up on display for the whole city to see. I wanted to gouge their eyes out and keep them as prized possessions in my living room as proof that I am one bad motherfucker. Hell, I'd hang their whole bodies up on my wall like a band poster and grin to myself every time I walked past them. But unfortunately, I had to hold myself back from making trophies out of their corpses. I promised myself that I would give them a scare, and that was it. Get the message through their head that Winter Kirijo was no longer a viable target for them to go after as long as I am around. And I think I've done my job quite well if I do say so myself.

"Do I make myself clear?" I growled. They didn't give me a response and I smashed the backs of their skulls back into the concrete wall behind them. "I SAID DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!!" I hollered. I'm willing to bet they would have shrieked like frightened little girls if they were able to make a sound. They nodded their heads frantically, pretty much crying their eyes out while doing so. I kept them in my hold for another few moments, just staring them down menacingly, before releasing my grip on their necks and shoved them down and away from me. They wasted absolutely no time in sprinting away, completely forgetting about the bag full of shit they had stolen from a convenience store.

I watched them intently as they ran and I was tempted to give myself a round of applause for how well they went. I didn't lose my cool to the point of just slaughtering them where they stood. I did get a little angry when they refused to answer right away, but all in all, I did pretty good today and I was proud of myself for that. Now I'm certain that Winter wouldn't have to deal with those fucking _mistakes_ for a real, real long time. If I did my job well enough, she won't have to deal with them ever again, which is what I was aiming for. Although I wouldn't mind giving them another little scare sometime in the future, given they go against my orders and fuck with her again. I guess I'm just a sadistic fuck like that. 

Once they were out of my line of sight, I kicked the bag of stolen goods with my foot. Bottles of cheap hard liquor came rolling out and I ignored them before going off on my way back home. I eventually made it to the part of the city where things were wild and lively as they usually were. Cars and bus's honked like maniac's and the city lights nearly blinded me when I looked up.

I almost expected to run into, or at least catch a glimpse of Scapegrace while on my way back home. Everyone seems to have an encounter with her one way or another. But it seems that vigilante batman wannabe has been pretty inactive as of late. People still spot her here and there, and she still stares at them like she was a lion and they were nothing but her pray. But there have been no reports of her attacking or killing anyone, and people were starting to wonder if her 'job' here was done. Whatever that 'job' of hers entailed, I didn't care to find out. I knew it couldn't have be anything good. It was Scapegrace after all, and she was a criminal.

It suddenly dawned on me that Ronnie and Aaron probably weren't the only problems I would have to deal with. If Scapegrace really was as malicious and bloodthirsty as they all say she is, then it's only a matter of time before she comes after Winter, right?

I could just be being extremely paranoid. But the lingering concern was still there, and I knew in the back of my mind that it was a real possibility. That criminal has gone after and murdered students from Hastings Academy in the very recent past, to who's to say she won't go after even more?

Just a few days before the semester started, there were reports of her mercilessly slaughtering a school boy in the middle of the street and then just walking away as if nothing had happened. An innocent school boy, and she killed him without any reason, or at least, none she was willing to disclose.

Either way, if it came down to it, I would hunt down and murder that vindictive piece of shit criminal if it meant keeping everyone, especially Winter, safe.


	7. Off To The Races

**Gerard Way's POV**

Another week of school has gone by, and as far as I know, those two gremlins I scared the other night haven't come near Winter at all. She tells me they've been avoiding her in the halls and practically running away from her every time they saw her. I never told her what I did, and I never intend to. But on the inside, I was grinning like a sadistic madman.

School had ended about ten minutes ago, and I was gathering up all of my things into my satchel while waiting for Winter to meet me here before I'd take her for our after school daily routine. We would go out for coffee and just talked about whatever we wanted to on that day, and then I would drive her back to her home since it was on the way to my apartment anyway. Even if it wasn't, I was still a gentleman and I wouldn't have made her walk.

Every time I dropped her off at her home, I always caught myself dreamily staring at her as she made her way back inside. I couldn't figure out why I was so entranced by her, or why I could never seem to take my eyes off of her. That's just how it was, and I couldn't help it. I think I was beginning to become attracted to her in a romantic sense. It wasn't that I just thought she was gorgeous (which she is) and it wasn't just that she was somehow different from everyone else. It was that I found myself wanting to be near her all the time, and I sometimes had to physically stop myself from wrapping my arm around her waist or pulling her into my hold whenever I got the chance. I wanted to touch her, not necessarily in a sexual manner. I wanted to feel her skin against mine, I wanted to continue smelling her sweet scent. It was like heroin to me, the way she smelled of strawberry bubblegum. It was like heaven to me.

In some ways, I guess you could say she was my Lolita.

As if on cue, the Asian beauty herself came walking through the door with a light knock and a soft smile. I averted my attention to her and returned the kind gesture. She was holding her sketchbook close to her chest and it was opened to a drawing she had done, which I couldn't see from here. She looked pretty excited about something, and I wondered what that something was.

"Someone's happy today." I commented. She nodded enthusiastically and I just about melted just looking at her. With her big bright golden brown manga eyes gazing up at me, I could have easily gotten lost just staring into them, and the way she skipped towards me made my heart race. Once she stood in front of me, she said "I wanted to show you this!" In a chipper voice. She then held out her sketchbook for me to take, and I was cautious in doing so. In the short amount of time that I've known this girl, I've learned that she was very overprotective over her drawing pad, and wouldn't let anyone else come near it. I guess she trusted me, though, and I looked down to see what she had created.

It wasn't the kimono woman, and it wasn't another drawing of Scapegrace like I had subconsciously expected for it to be. No, this time it was a man with semi-long, slightly unkempt black hair and sharp, angular button nose. Broad shoulders and a sculpted face, this man she drew wasn't half bad looking, in fact, he was quite attractive. I took a few moments to really look over it, and it wasn't until I realized there was a cup of coffee sitting right next to the man on the page did it click in my mind that this wasn't just some random man she had made up in her mind and transferred onto a piece of paper. I felt my face grow hot with slight embarrassment mixed with the intense feeling of being flattered.

That man in the drawing was me.

I looked back up to see her biting her lips and nervously twiddling her thumb. Once she caught me looking at her, she spoke but her voice was soft and unsure.

"I hope it isn't creepy o-or anything, I just thought, you know-"

"Winter," I cut her off. She stopped herself and clamped her mouth shut. I could tell she was afraid of what my reaction would be to this. "This looks absolutely stunning and beautiful." I complimented her before she had a chance to think that I was creeped out in the slightest, because I wasn't. I was telling the truth when I said this drawing was beautiful, and I couldn't stop staring at it. Her eyes brightened up significantly.

"You really like it?"

"I fucking love it." I stated, and she didn't look like she minded my vulgar use of language. I've actually been using that type of language around her for a while now and it never bothered her. I've learned now that she could curse up a storm herself. "Winter, I don't think you realize just how talented you are. Fuck, I wasn't even this good when I was your age!" It's true. I couldn't even draw a lousy cat without getting frustrated.

"Th-thank you!" She beamed brightly up at me. But looked into her eyes for the umpteenth time, I could still see some major hints of insecurity, and I wanted desperately for her to know how much I admired her work. As I've said before, it looked like her creations were going to come crawling out of the page Samara Morgan style. I could just imagine myself coming out of the page and manifesting into another entity. It was unnerving in the most delicious way possible, I was in love with it, I was in love with her art. When I was her age, I could only wish to be as gifted as she was. I could only wish to be able to draw people that realistic and...mind blowing. That was the only word I could think of to describe her work.

I set the sketchbook down onto my desk for the time being and stepped closer to her. She craned her neck to look at me and without thinking, I cupped her face into my hands and pressed my lips gently onto hers. She froze under my touch, but it didn't register in my mind quite yet.

The kiss wasn't too heated or anything, there was no groin groping or tongue tasting. It was just a sweet, close mouth kiss, yet even so I could still taste her cherry flavored lip stain on my taste buds and I craved more. I wanted to part her lips open with mine and see just all that she had to offer. But I held myself back, it was inappropriate enough that I was doing this. But knowing this, I still didn't stop. I couldn't stop. It was so addicting.

She didn't kiss me back, but at the same time, she protest to it or try and stop me. I took this as a good sign and I delved a bit deeper into the saccharine lip lock. Eventually, one of my hands found its way onto her waist and I felt the fabric of her black, short sleeved blouse against the skin of my fingers along with the curvature of her slim, petite waist. I squeezed slightly, just reveling in the feeling of having her small body so close to time. Her lips were sweeter than any lollipop or jolly rancher I'd ever eaten, and I could have easily stood here and tasted them all day long if she let me.

Soon, one of her arms came up and coiled itself around my neck, almost pulling me down and closer. I took this as initiative to deepen the kiss once more and I felt her gasp underneath me. I got back to thinking about the story of Lolita while I did this, because of the huge age difference. I couldn't say how many years it was exactly, since I've long since forgotten how old I was. It never mattered much anyway. All I knew was that this wasn't right, but I couldn't help it. She was just so captivating and hypnotizing. How could anyone not fall for her?

After a few more moments of savoring her strawberry flavored mouth, I slowly, reluctantly pulled away to see her eyes were half lidded and her cheeks were as red as a hot stove. We stood there in absolute, deafening silence. Never saying a word. I wanted to say something to her, but no matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn't think of anything for the life of me. So instead, I apologized.

"I'm...I'm so sorry, that-that was so inappropriate of me, I'm so sorry," I started to back away from her, but much to my shock, she only came closer. She wouldn't allow for the distance between our bodies to be more than a few inches. I wanted so badly to pull her into me once more, and never let her go no matter what. But this wasn't right. She was only fifteen or sixteen years old, and as much as I loved Vladimir Nabokov's novel about falling in love with someone so much younger than you are, I couldn't let myself become the physical embodiment of Humbert Humbert. But at the same time, I wasn't in my mid fifties and she wasn't a twelve year old girl. She was practically all grown up.

No no stop that Gerard! This isn't right!

But I can't help it, I want her so bad, I want to be able to call her mine, I want to be able to kiss her whenever I want and I wanted to be near her every chance I had. She was truly the light of my life.

_Light of my life, fire of my loins._

Winter stood on her tippy toes and pressed a soft peck to my burning hot cheek. I could feel the blush spread to the rest of my body like a virus and I was willing to bet my pupils were dilated as all hell. She didn't back away after that, though. Instead, she carefully took to snaking her arms around my neck and breathing in deeply my own scent of...whatever I smelled like.

"Don't apologize," she whispered into my ear and hugged me tighter. Unable to resist any longer, I bent down and embraced her back in a firm fashion. This way, I could fully feel all of her curves and her chest pressed against mine. Her dark hair was pulled up into yet another one of those flawless buns held together with that same hair pick, but the sections of black locks that fell around and framed her face brushed slightly up against the crook of my neck.

Words simply couldn't describe just how infatuated I was with this girl, this wonderfully flawed and enticing human girl. I very well may be a bad man for feeling this way about her, but if being a bad man was the consequence for feeling this way about her, then so be it.

"I'm sorry." I said for the last time.

"Don't be, it's okay." she assured me. I grinned warmly at her words and I imagined her as my little scarlet starlet, I envisioned her as being my one and only. The one person I would get down on my knees for, who I would kiss the ground for, and who I would do anything for. This could very well be nothing more than just a silly little crush, after all it hasn't even been a full two weeks since we've met. And I wouldn't necessarily say I was in love with her, but with the way things were going at this moment, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility to fall headfirst over the cliff and into an abyss of blind devotion. Devotion, all for her.

"I hope you know just how much I love that drawing."

She giggled into the crook of my neck and soon, she pulled away and stood normally again. I grabbed the sketchbook and handed it back to her. She placed it into her bag and faced me once more with quite possibly the brightest smile I'd ever seen her wear. I wanted to see it on her more often, since she always looks so sullen and gloomy. A face as pretty as hers shouldn't ever have to wear such a crestfallen frown on it. It most certainly didn't suit her. I'd much rather see her eyes be completely free of any tears, and thanks to that little scare tactic I pulled on those boys not too long ago, I'm certain that's gonna be the case from now on.

Sighing dreamily to myself, I thought, ' _If this is heaven, then I don't think I wanna know hell_ '.


	8. Tear In My Heart

**Winter Kirijo's POV**

Ever since that kiss happened with Mr. Way-sorry. Ever since that kiss happened with Gerard yesterday, I haven't been able to get my mind off of it no matter what I do or how hard I try. I wasn't even anywhere near him, and yet I could still taste his early morning cup of coffee and some hints of cigarette smoke, something which I've grown quite accustomed to over the years. In fact, I had just gotten done with a cigarette of my own while I sat alone in my room, staring at a blank piece of paper. Well, okay, it wasn't entirely blank. There was a rough outline of someone-I'm not sure who it should be yet-wearing a fedora. I still have yet to define their facial features, all I had so far the hat, and the rough sketch of what this person's body looked like so far. I couldn't seem to get past a rough sketch of this person, though.

I've tried everything I could think of. I took a fifteen minute break and come back only to have my mind draw a blank again. I've tried having a glass of wine (stolen from one my mother's bottles) to loosen myself up and maybe bring in some more inspiration, and I've tried having a cigarette since that always seems to calm my senses. But nothing worked thus far, and I was starting to grow frustrated. Frustrated, and tired. Looking at the alarm clock on my nightstand, I saw it was almost seven at night, and there was no progress to be made on my little project.

I huffed felt my eyelids grow heavy. They soon were difficult to keep open and I cursed myself for feeling this tired so early on in the evening. Although, I guess that's kind of my own fault. I almost never get a full night of rest anymore, I haven't been able to for over a year now. I think the most I've slept at a single time is maybe three or four hours. Maybe that's why I always have to apply an obscene amount of concealer underneath my eyes to hide the fact that I'm a raging insomniac.

I stood from my seat in front of my desk, the same place I've been seated at for the past three hours, and made my way into the kitchen for some coffee. I was hoping there was some left over from the morning, but when I checked, the coffee pot was empty. I guess Okaasan (my mother) drank the last bit, and when I searched through the cupboards, cabinets, and the pantry, there was no more that I could make. Dammit.

With another tired huff, I retrieved my hoodie from my room and laced up my boots. Looks like I'm going for an impromptu coffee run.

I managed to walk past Okaasan's room without making much sound and she didn't come out to check on me anyway, so I left without saying a word like I always did. I made sure to lock the door before I started walking at a leisurely pace toward one of my favorite cafe's. Cafe Grumpy, which coincidentally is the same coffee place Gerard and I go to after school to hang out and talk for an hour or so before I come back home. Needless to say, it's now become a place of comfort and repose. Not very many people come here anyway, so it's a perfect place to retreat to when you just need to sit in silence for a while.

Walking along the streets of New York City at this hour was pretty relaxing in itself, despite how wild and lively this place was. Even at a time like three in the morning, people would be constantly bustling about and taxi's would be speeding down the road. It was insane, yet it also felt like home to me. I moved here all the way from Nagasaki when I was about twelve years old, and I found that New York was very similar in a lot of ways. Because of this, it didn't take much getting used to in regards to the living conditions. It still took me years to fully understand the English language and adapting to the western American culture in general.

I observed many of the bright lights and sky high buildings around me. It rained a few hours ago, so the roads were wet, and the lights reflected off of the puddles, creating something straight out of an art piece. I nearly lost myself on my trek for more caffeine before I finally encountered the front entrance to my destination. I abruptly stopped myself before I face planted a pole and briskly turned on my heels to enter. When I stepped inside, the place was quiet and nearly empty of any customer's as it normally was. There were maybe two other people in here with me, not including the employee's. 

The barista at the front waved at me and offered a friendly smile. I smiled back slightly and made my way up to the front to order, making sure to keep my gaze fixated on the ground below.

"Hello, what can I get for you today?" the barista asked me. I softly told them I'd like a black coffee with espresso while I reached into my pocket for my wallet.

"That will be 2.50, ma'am."

I nodded and went to reach into my other pocket seeing as how it wasn't in there. I frowned when I realized it wasn't in this one either. Maybe it was in my jean pocket.

"J-Just one moment, please." I said in a penitent tonality.

"Take your time, miss."

I frantically dug my hands into my jean pockets, front and back as well, but my wallet just wasn't there to be found. I felt my heart begin to pound rapidly and my anxiety levels increase little by little. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal for most people, they would just calmly tell the barista they left their cash at home and that they couldn't pay for the beverage. But me? I'm way too neurotic to handle things like this so calmly, it's disgusting, really.

"I-I think I left m-my wa-" I started to try and explain that I couldn't pay for it, but before I could finish my sentence another voice from behind me spoke up instead.

"Here," the voice said in a pleasant way. It was then that I saw an arm reach up and hand the barista a five dollar bill. I spun around on my heels and looked up to see none other than Mr. Way himself standing there in all his glory. He caught me looking and shot me a flirtatious wink.

"Alrighty, miss, I'll have that black coffee ready for you in a moment here."

"Th-thank you," I said. Gerard and I walked over to an empty round wooden table and took seats on the opposite side. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I wanted to." he grinned to himself like he was somehow proud of something.

"Let me at least pay you back," I insisted. He shook his head, no.

"Don't worry about it, honey."

"You've bought me coffee for the past week and a half, let me at least-"

"Winter," he interrupted once more. He reached over the table and placed his warm, calloused hand over mine. I almost wanted to grab it and intertwine our fingers together, but I held myself back from doing such a thing and just listened to what he had to say. "It's my pleasure, don't worry about paying me back. Besides, it's just five dollars."

"You over paid." I pointed out.

"I know I did."

"Well, thank you again." I nearly stammered.

"You're welcome, sweetie." he told me in that raspy voice of his that I couldn't help but fall in love with. Before either of us could say another word, the barista at the front counter called out the beverage I ordered, proclaiming that it was ready. I stood from my seat to retrieve it from him, after which I made sure to thank him for probably the second or third time. I lose count sometimes.

After I got my coffee and Gerard ordered one of his own, we both exited Cafe Grumpy and were met with a light breeze brushing up against us. My hair was starting to get a bit tangled because of it, so I use the hair tie on my wrist to pull it up into a high ponytail. The whole time I did this, I noticed Gerard was gazing at me all the while with an expression that I couldn't quite read. It was something between fascination and curiosity. I don't why he would be either of those things, in all honesty.

"So what brings you back up here at eight o'clock?"

Holy shit, it's eight o'clock already? Last time I checked a clock, it was just barely seven. I guess I took a lot longer than I realized to walk here from my apartment. I must have really gotten lost within my own mind, then.

"Creator's block, and I-I needed something to keep me awake." I explained.

"I get that a lot, too." he told me. "May I ask what it is you're stuck on?"

Gerard linked his arm around mine and we began ambling down the sidewalk absentmindedly. Our footsteps were almost in sync with each other and from where I was, I could feel the warmth radiating off of him. It made me almost lean into his body where I could feel it even more. I can't explain it, really, but being around him seemed to water down my anxiety levels more than any medication I've taken in the past has been able to do. When I'm by myself or with anyone else, I feel like if I do or say anything wrong, then they'll somehow condemn me and I'll ruin any potential there ever was for a friendship. But with him, not everything was the end of the world. It's not that he somehow made everything better by some miracle. No, he just made it so that I didn't feel so overwhelmed with apprehension.

"I had this idea for a drawing for a while now, but I can't seem to make it...work. If that makes any sense..."

"I get what you mean," he started, "you know what you want it to look like, but your hand just isn't cooperating."

"Precisely!" I exclaimed. He chuckled at my little outburst.

"Being an artist is hard work, I tell ya'. I used to sit in my room for days on end just obsessing over the same incomplete drawing. It pissed my brother off to no end."

I giggled at the anecdote and sipped from my piping hot beverage. The bitter taste of the stuff burned the inside of my mouth, but it only just brought me a sense of zen. I almost loved the feeling of its burn for a reason I don't think I could comprehend. Guess I'm just a masochist or something.

"What about you, do you have any brothers or sisters to piss off?"

I shook my head. "As far as I know, I'm an only child."

"As far as you know?"

"Yeah, my uncle Takeharu once told me that my mom used to live a complete different life before I came along. He once hinted at me that she may have had a kid already, but I never knew for sure."

Gerard seemed a little taken aback by that, which I couldn't blame him. I just basically told him that my mom may or may not have left a whole other family before birthing me and moving me all the way out here to the United States.

"So I take it you're from somewhere in Japan?"

I nodded. "I was born and raised in Nagasaki up until about four years ago."

"And that's when you came here." he finished for me.

"Yep."

"That's really interesting," he started again. "What's Japan like?" he asked.

"Well, contrary to a lot of people's belief it's not this all wonderful anime land where people cosplay in skimpy school girl outfits every corner you turn." I laughed. If I had a dollar for every time I came across a disappointed tourist who was hoping to meet a real life Sasuke and Naruto, I would be partying on a yacht with Charlie Sheen.

"Looks like I'm not taking Mikey to Japan anytime soon." he joked. He asked me what else there was to tell about the city of Nagasaki and I proceeded to tell him everything I could think of. I told him that it was very similar to New York in that it never seemed to sleep no matter how late at night or how early in the morning it was. No matter where you went, you couldn't escape the sheer wildness of the place. I told him that was why Okaasan and I were so naturally attracted to this place. I don't think I could survive in a small town, I'm pretty certain I would have lost my mind.

"Where are you from?" I queried. I felt like I was talking way too much, I wanted to know more about him and where he came from.

"Me?" It's like he wasn't expecting for me to ask about him at all. But it wasn't fair that I was the one to do all the talking. "Oh, I'm from New Jersey, but that's about all there is to tell. Nothing really interesting about that place."

"I'm sure there's something," I suggested. He just shook his head. Maybe he didn't want to talk about, and that's why he was giving me such vague answers. I wasn't one to pry in situations like these, so I didn't press him or ask anymore questions, and I didn't comment about how his arm linked with mine had tightened again.

"So, about yesterday." He began. My face flushed at the thought of that kiss yesterday. I'm sure that's what he was referring to. What else would it be?

"Yesterday..." I repeated. I could still taste him on my lips, and I could still feel his hand around my waist and on my cheek. My heart started racing again at the thought of something like that happening again. I doubt it would.

Gerard paused and we stopped in our tracks. We were now standing in front of a concrete park bench. He slipped his arm out my mine and sat down, then patted the spot next to him. He was beckoning for me to do the same. I obeyed quietly and sat myself right next to him, our thighs nearly touching. Looking down at our legs, I almost giggled because I was so much smaller than he was. Even when we were sitting down, I still had to tilt my head upwards just to see him. We sat in silence for a few seconds before he placed his hand cautiously on my knee. He was careful about it, and darted his eyes toward me as if he were asking for my permission to do something like that. I didn't protest to it.

"Forgive me for being so...inappropriate." he inhaled deeply. "I promise, I won't ever do anything like that again."

My heart dropped a bit, but I didn't say anything. I waited for him to go on instead.

"Unless, you want me to that is." Gerard finished. For the first time since we've met, I locked eyes with him and saw just how serious he was about this. A subtle shade of pink tinted his cheeks, but I'm sure mine were a lot darker. Somehow, I didn't get nervous or irked in the slightest when we spent probably five or ten minutes just staring. Staring, and saying nothing. With anyone else, I'm sure I would have bolted by now, but his gaze kept me locked in place. Soon, I noticed him leaning closer, and closer until I felt his breath on my lips. I just waited for him to close the distance between us himself, since I was too afraid to do it. I don't know why, though.

"Do you want me to?" he whispered, so no one else could hear him but me. I nodded. He took this as a good sign and once again, I could feel him on my mouth. I leaned back from the force of the kiss and his hands caught my upper back. This time around, I didn't just stand there, dormant and un-moving like some moron. I moved my lips against his and the taste of his coffee was more prominent this time. Coffee with a hint of lingering cigarette's.

Gerard's hand moved from on top of my knee to back on its rightful place along my waist. His fingers curled slightly to squeeze, but not hard enough to cause any pain. Just hard to demonstrate his want for me. My arms were around his neck just like yesterday. I'm sure many people were walking past us and giving us weird or even disgusted looks at our shameless public display of affection. But both of our eyes were shut tight and at this moment, neither of us could care less about what anyone else thought. For once, I didn't care. I wish I could feel like this more often.

We both pulled away simultaneously, but he snuck in a peck on my cheek. I felt his fingers running through my hair  and he whispered to me and me only.

"You're very special, you know."

"You mean like, 'stop eating the paste' special?"

"What? Of course not." he assured me. I didn't actually think he meant that I was retarded. I giggled.

"I mean, you're not like everyone else. You interest me more than anyone else have in the nine years that I've been teaching at this academy."

That couldn't be true, could it? I wasn't that interesting of a person, even Naomi was probably dying of boredom and she's already dead.

"You don't mean that."

"I mean that more than anything. Words can't describe just how amazing you are with a pencil, and just how captivating you are as a person. I'm not joking with you when I say that I like you. And not just in a friendly way."

Was is possible to attain third degree burns just from blushing alone?

"I'm no different from anyone else."

"You are."

I didn't try arguing with him, because I could tell already that he was a stubborn one. But I still didn't believe him.

"I don't want to make you feel like you have to be involved with me, though."

It was now my turn to shake my head. "I don't feel like that at all."

"Are you sure?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure."

His facial features softened again and he leaned in for another lip lock. This one didn't last as long as our first two did, but I still enjoyed it just as much nonetheless. When Gerard pulled back, he gave me a nervous beam and I returned it without any hesitation.

"So...what does this mean for...for us?" I asked.

 _Us._ God, I don't remember the last time I used that word in this specific context...Well, okay that's not entirely true. I do remember, but the last time was when Naomi was still here. Needless to say, it felt beyond strange now that I was talking about someone else. Someone that wasn't her. In all honesty, I wasn't sure how to feel about it. 

"Well, what d'ya say we try things out and see where we go?" Gerard suggested. Something about the way he said that told me that this wasn't just going to be an experiment. This...thing...between us would last for much longer than a couple of weeks at most. I had a strong feeling this would be so much more than that.

Oh god, was I ready for something like that? Was I ready to move on finally and be with someone other than her? Would she be mad at me for getting involved with someone else? A man, someone who I've never been with before, and much less a damn teacher? _My_ teacher?

Before I had a chance to think about it any longer, my lips defied me.

"I think I'd like that."

Gerard smiled brightly, and much to my surprise I was able to return the gesture. But while we kissed once more, almost as if we were finally consummating this relationship, I still felt conflicted with myself on whether or not I should really go through with this. I mean, I suppose it's too late now. I've already agreed to this, there's no backing out now. I hoped to whatever god was up there, that Naomi wasn't glaring down at us and wishing for us to burn in hell for me moving on. She would want me to move on, I'm sure. But the guilt was still there and it crippled me inside.

When Gerard walked me home, the whole way there I was consumed with the thought of Naomi. When we parted with another kiss, I was terrified that I was somehow betraying my dead girlfriend. Like I was cheating on her or something. But you can't cheat on the deceased, can you? Even if that wasn't an issue for me, I still wasn't sure I was ready to start a brand new relationship. With a _man_.

I snuck inside to see the place dark and empty. Okaason was locked in her room, I'm sure. So really, I might as well have been home alone. I'm not sure I wanted to be alone right now. I needed my mother, I don't think I've ever needed her more than I do right now.


	9. How I Could Just Kill A Man

**A/N: Things get really graphic in this chapter, like, gory. So if you're sensitive to that kind of stuff, I recommend reading with caution. Also, there will be another update soon, in fact I'm getting to work on that one as soon as this is posted.**

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_Two months later..._

For the past few weeks, there has been little activity or any signs of Scapegrace's existence. The amount of sightings, even, has decreased exponentially and people were starting to think that maybe, just maybe, she was gone for good. But that was about to change very quickly tonight as the city brimmed with human wildlife. Just like every single other night, there were rogue teens wondering around, causing trouble or just trying to find their way back home. Just like the night before the start of this semester at Hastings Academy, Scapegrace was on the prowl, just looking for fresh blood to spill. Or at least, that's what everyone was saying as they caught a glimpse of her stalking down the sidewalk and shooting glares at anyone who came within three feet of her.

She had fended off about four squads of police officer's tonight and it was only eleven in the evening. It sounded late, but for Scapegrace, it might as well have been six in the morning. Since the summertime had already began to make its exit and autumn was slowly coming in, the temperature outside was much cooler than it had been, and Scapegrace wore a long black Navy Seals pea coat on top of her usual black hoodie, and the hood was still pulled up over her head and her red biohazard respirator mask concealing her nose and mouth. Just like always, her eyes were set on one target in particular, a school boy from the Academy itself who she had been following around for the past hour and a half. She caught him running around with some poor blonde students a good deal of years younger than Ronnie, the schoolboy in question, was.

She caught him about to attack her in a somewhat secluded alleyway where no one would pay any attention to them. She overheard them conversing about a rather uncomfortable subject, and all the while he constantly tried to seduce her with him oh so charming ways. That's where he led her away from the view of the public, but not from the view of Scapegrace. As things were getting heated between the two students, a majority of the young girl's clothes having already been discarded, Ronnie suddenly wrapped a hand around her fragile neck and squeezed, making her choke and gasp for air. Scape peered over them from on top of a building's roof and scowled at Ronnie's predatory actions.

Soon, when Ronnie was close to sinking his teeth into the vulnerable girl's skin of her shoulder, the vigilante/criminal everyone feared smoothly swooped down from where she stood and landed a bone crushing drop kick to the side of Ronnie's torso. He was taken by surprise and went flying across the alleyway, smashing into the brick wall behind him. Scape landed swiftly on her feet, her body in the position of a low crouch. The girl Ronnie attacked and was possibly about to take advantage of screamed and scrambled to pull on her double breasted Gucci trench coat. The criminal shot her gaze towards the poor girl and said something under her breath that she barely understood. But it sounded like she had growled at her to go. She confirmed the girl's suspicions when she narrowed her eyes and nudged her chin towards the exit of the alleyway, beckoning for her to leave. So that's what she did. The poor young girl didn't even bother grabbing her other shoe before dashing out of there as fast as her feet could carry her. She was soon disappeared from both of their line of sight, and Scapegrace turned her attention back to the boy she ruthlessly kicked.

He groaned in agony before slowly rising back to a standing position and glared at his opponent.

"You..." he trailed off. She cocked her head to the side, daring him to go on. "The felon everyone's to scared of."

The skin a few inches beneath her eyes seemed to have lifted in a way that suggested she was smiling under that mask of hers. Ronnie snickered at this and spat rudely at her feet. It landed about a foot away from her boots. She looked down at it, then back up at the boy. With that testy smirk presumably still plastered on her face, she raised waved her finger in a condescending manner and 'tsk'd at him.

"The fuck are you gonna do? You Kylo Ren wannabe!"

Scapegrace didn't respond but instead, reached into the holster on her thigh, pulling out a Bundeswehr advanced combat knife. She swung it playfully in the air, seeming to taunt him with it before her feet suddenly propelled forward and she charged at him with inhuman speed. He was caught off guard by her unwarranted maneuver, but still managed to block to the best of his ability with his arms. He kept her from cutting into his face, but she still swung and sliced along his forearm. He hissed at the stinging sensation, and he bled profusely from how deep she got him.

"Fuck!" he yelled through clenched teeth. Before she could swing and cut another part of his body, Ronnie instinctively retracted his hand back and slapped her right across the face, almost knocking her respirator mask out of place. Besides that, however, she didn't seem to be phased in the slightest and smacked him across the face right back, perhaps even harder than he had. While he was momentarily distracted, she raised her hand back again and attempted to drive the blade into the center of his face. She was a little late, though, for he brought his hands up and clutched her wrist, preventing her from killing him on the spot. Ronnie then raised his foot and landed a high kick to the bottom of her chin. He heard a high pitched yelp come from her mask and she stumbled back upon impact, taking her dagger with her.

"Fuck off, Kylo!" he growled before stepping backwards, but not to run away. It was only to serve as a running head start right before he jumped up in the air. He almost twirled while he did so, and both of his feet came slamming right below Scapegrace's breast bones. The force of his attack was enough to send her flying out of the alleyway, but it didn't stop there. Her body flew all the way across the street, and right in through a large window looking into a fairly popular bookstore. Customers inside screamed in horror at this, many of them backing away or pulling out their phones to call the police. They heard nearly inaudible groans coming from her, and she felt an abundance of broken glass pieces digging into her skin.

"Scapegrace, that's fucking Scapegrace!!" a customer yelled, though she paid this person no mind. She could feel Ronnie's presence coming closer, readying himself to attack. She wouldn't give him that chance, however. One of them would not walk out of this fight alive, and she was not going to let herself succumb to that role.

With this in her mind, Scapegrace scooped a handful of the broken glass with her gloved hand despite how a majority of it cut into her skin, more than likely, making her bleed. She ignored the pain and managed to jump back up to her feet just as Ronnie had made it across the street. He noticed her hop right back up and shot her the deadliest of glares. She returned the gesture, her anger and contempt causing for her to squeeze the handful of glass even tighter.

"You're getting your ass handed to by a measly high school students, how sad is that?" Ronnie laughed. Scapegrace shook her head, knowing just how much this boy was fucked.

When they were closer in proximity, Scapegrace raised her fist as if she were going to land a punch but instead, chucked the broken glass right into his face, much of it getting in his eyes and he shouted out loud.

"GODDAMMIT!!"

Scapegrace almost laughed at his pain like a sick sadist, and was about to attack again when she realized he was stumbling back, still holding his eyes. She stepped forward slowly, watching intently as the boy continued walking backwards until he eventually reached the edge of the sidewalk where he tripped and fell straight into oncoming traffic. He was nearly flattened into a pancake in the pavement as many cars and taxis came to a halting stop. This gave the criminal the perfect opportunity to ambush him, and she used this opportunity to her advantage. With the buckles on her boots clanging together, creating an intimidating sound that signaled danger, she stomped over to where Ronnie lay. While he writhed pathetically on the ground, yelling his lungs out, she bend down and snatched up the collar of his dress shirt. With seemingly little to no strength, she forced him back onto his feet, only to smash his body against the hood of the car in front of them. The driver probably hopped out and started cursing at them or even going to dial nine-one-one, but she blocked him out entirely. She would deal with him later on if need be, but for now she was completely focused on her deranged adversary.

She didn't stop there, however. No, she kept going and slammed his head down onto the hood. The back of his skull ricocheted off of the metal and after a full minute and a half of this torture, blood began pooling beneath his hair and he grew dizzier and dizzier by the second. She could tell he was close to passing out, or even dying. But she never let up, she had learned her lesson last time. She would not allow for herself to give in so easily like that.

Just when she thought he was give up, his eyes shot open to reveal they were bleeding from the sclera's. He could still see as far as she could tell, but it was clear that he had a hard time keeping his eyelids open. She nearly laughed at this; it looked like she had done a good job at blinding him. Ronnie gazed up at her with a hateful scowl and without warning, he lifted her foot up and had managed to get it wedged right on top of her chest. He then roughly shoved her away with it and overcame the dizziness that nearly overwhelmed him.

Before Scapegrace could subdue him again, he shot forward and tackled her with all of his might. They both struggled to turn the tables on each other, and they went rolling back onto the sidewalk where many civilians yelled out and ran away in unadulterated fear. He managed to stay on top of her and soon wrapped both of his hands around her neck just like he had done with that poor blonde girl he attempted to take advantage of. Similar choking sound emitted from her throat, though they were muffled by the respirator mask. They were still able to be heard and he grinned in satisfaction at this.

"You think you're so damn tough, don't 'ya!?" he taunted. Scapegrace felt her vision starting to go black, but reminded herself of the promise she made in her head to not let this delinquent boy get the best of her. With this in mind, she remembered the combat knife she still wielded and gained back enough of her sense to use it against him since she still had it in her possession. By some miracle, it hadn't gone tumbling down the road when he tackled her. She clutched the handle tighter than ever and brought it up with immense speed to his face. The blade went straight through his cheek while slicing up the inside of his mouth in the process. His hands around her neck loosened instantly and his screams were ear damaging. This was perhaps the loudest he had ever screamed.

Blood dribbled down his impaled cheek while also seeping from his mouth, dripping down onto Scapegrace's face. She then ripped the dagger away, causing for even more blood to spill from the wound. Her hands shoved him away and she successfully got the upper hand. She moved on top of him instead, straddling his torso and bringing the knife back down to get in between his eyes just like she had done with the last victim. But much to her dismay as well as surprise, Ronnie still had the strength to keep on fighting. He yelled out in anguish while simultaneously punching the combat knife away. Just like last time as well, it flew a good seven feet away, making it so she couldn't just merely reach over and snatch it back up again. She had no time to ponder over how she could get it back this time, so she did the only thing she could think to do. She reached down, grasping onto his still bleeding head and started to turn it into a horribly awkward position. Awkward soon turned into painful and Ronnie realized just what she was trying to do.

She was trying to snap his neck, and from the way things were going at the moment, she wasn't having much trouble doing so. He couldn't let that happen, so he also did the only thing he could think to do. He reached up and poked his index finger straight into one of her bright crimson eyes.

This was a low blow, even for him. But yet, it still made her scream aloud, allowing for him to kick her away. She struggled to get back on her feet as did Ronnie, who's hand was just covered in blood from holding his wounded cheek by now.

They stood about a few meter's apart, both of them panting and hunched over. Although Ronnie was much worse off than she was, considering he had a gaping hole in his face that made him almost look like someone who just crawled right out of a grave.

"Going after as many innocent students as you can, is that your intention now?" he growled. Scapegrace didn't respond, as always, she was completely wordless and only let him rant as much as he wanted to before she would attack next. Before he said another word, Scape watched as his eyes turned from a regular hazel to an illuminating, unnatural orange. "Or at least, that's what everyone thinks you do. They just think you're a ruthless, cold blooded killer out only for blood and nothing more. Why even try? You know you'll never win. Either give up, or join us."

Scape's eyes narrowed in utter disdain at his words, but she still refused to talk back to him. She barely seemed like a person since no on had ever heard her speak. Not even just one simple word. It was all growls and hisses from her. Nothing more and nothing less.

"Fine then, if that's how it's gonna be."

Without another word, Ronnie did his best to disregard the bleeding wound near his lips and started running at her again. She anticipated for this to happen, and sidestepped out of the way, making it so he missed her completely. She took this chance, raised her arm and rammed her elbow into the side of his neck. He grunted from the hit and nearly tumbled down onto his back again, but still stayed in a standing position despite the immense torment his body was going through at the moment. Scapegrace refused to stop just there, however. She raised her fist and attempted to throw a punch at his face. He caught her wrist just in time, gave it a painful squeeze, and effortlessly spun her body so her back was to him. The next thing she knew, his arms were wrapped around her neck and pressing themselves further down on her, limiting her breathing. She coughed a few times and all the while, he took to grabbing at her mask with one of his hands. Her heart raced at this. He was going to try and expose her identity!

Obviously, she couldn't let that happen, and so she lifted her boot and smashed it into his calf.

"God...!"

His grip on her loosened slightly, but it was more than enough for her to briskly pry them off of her, spun herself around and kneed him with all her strength in the groin. Ronnie's hands went flying to shield his crotch from anymore of her wrath, but it did virtually nothing. He stumbled back once, and she took advantage of the situation once more. Scapegrace began jumping up, landing kicks to his body as well as throwing in as many punches as she could. She could see his face already begin to bruise, blood poured from his nose and his body doubled over from her constant abuse. She never let up, well, at least not until his backside ran into a pole. But he didn't have enough time to turn and run away before Scapegrace delivered another flying kick to his chest, making not only his front, but his back side ache as well, since it nearly became one with the pole.

With a wordless grunt, he reached out and grabbed at her hood, making her gasp in shock. He yanked her in towards him, but stepped away from the pole and attempted to smash her face into it instead. Luckily enough, her hands went and blocked her face from colliding with the metal, and Ronnie screamed in fury.

She wouldn't allow for him to win this fight, not over her dead body.

 Scapegrace reeled her head back and backwards headbutt him. He shouted and it seemed she had nearly broken his nose just from that hit alone. She didn't stop there, however. Her elbow smashed into his face instead of his neck this time around and his cries of pain grew louder with each new move she dished out on him. He was still behind her, but instead of turning around to attack him from the front, her hands reached up and grabbed for his face. At first, he wasn't sure what exactly she was trying to do because at first, she just squeezed until the stab wound in his cheek throbbed even worse than when he first received it.

With no words, like usual, she slowly moved her arms forward out in front of her, bringing Ronnie's body along with them. Once again, the criminal of New York demonstrated to her victim, and to anyone who was watching just how much damage she was capable of. She proved to everyone that she was nowhere close to being a human, and anyone who thought she was, was absolutely kidding themselves. There was no way a woman that much smaller than him could be able to throw a boy (or man) his size right over her body like that. But she did, defying the laws of logic as she did so.

Ronnie moaned from on the ground, almost begging for her to leave him be. But if anyone knew anything about this vigilante/criminal, it was that she only attacked to kill. That meant that if she threw a punch at you, then you were fucked because she wouldn't leave you alone until she was absolutely sure that you were not breathing.

Scape placed her boot down on one of his shoulders, and kicked down harshly into it before she bent down and used both of her hands to grab and claw at his face. Ronnie's heart dropped when he realized what she was about to do, and his almost started crying at just the thought of it. He didn't think that even he was able to be that cruel to someone, even if that person was the same person he had despised for years upon years. This action alone proved just how sick and twisted Scapegrace was.

While one of her hands pressed down on the bottom of his chin, suppressing his breath yet still allowing for him to drag one in, her other one latched its fingers into the hole in his face. That in itself was painful enough, but what made it worse...so much worse...was that she began tugging on it, making the skin on his face rip like the seems of a cloth. His screams were deafening to everyone around them, and civilians shrieked at the sight before them. At the sight of Scapegrace doing something so cruel to what they thought was just a normal schoolboy who was out past his curfew.

She didn't seem to mind or care, though as his wails pierced her eardrums. She never blinked, twitched, or gave any sign that she cared whatsoever. Scapegrace truly was an emotionless sociopath, at least in the eyes of anyone who knew who she was.

Her tugging on his skin grew sharper and within the next few seconds, she managed to rip nearly half of his face off, exposing the whiteness of his skull and the red muscle underneath his skin. In this moment, the only thing he knew how to do was scream. With a handful of what used to be his face still in her gloved hand, she chucked it to the side and it ended up hitting an innocent civilian. They yelled in terror and sprinted off while blood stained their clothes. The worst part about it, was that it was just a little girl with pigtails while holding a stuffed octopus.

Scape didn't seem to care in the slightest that she just quite possibly scarred a child for life. She didn't even care that Ronnie was writhing in agony on the pavement, screaming his head off and rolling over onto his hands and knees. His hand hovered and trembled violently over the half of his face. He looked up at her from on the ground and that's when he finally started crying. Her cheeks shifted again, suggesting yet another sickening smirk from under that damn mask of hers. This made his tears fall harder, but they weren't regular tears. In place of the normal clear, salty ones that a human would be crying, they were dark and red, nearly sludge like. She shook her head while the slight throbbing in her eye from his past blow lessened out until it wasn't even there anymore.

"Y-YOU SICK FUCK!!" he cursed at the top of his lungs. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!?"

He slowly, at the pace of a snail, started crawling forward. He wasn't sure just what he was going to do, seeing as how he couldn't do much from on the ground. He shook her head again at just how helpless he looked, screaming and crying. It was heartbreaking to any outsiders who had to see this mess go down, but it was also terrifying because half of his face was nothing but raw muscle and bones. He looked like a zombie.

With eyes wide and sporting an insane, psychotic gleam to them, she reeled her foot back and without warning, smashed it into the side of his face that was nearly nonexistent. She swore she heard a crack from where her steel toe hit his wound, and that only prompted for her to keep going in this seemingly endless torture. She kicked him in the same spot again, making his arms give out and for him to go falling back down. Scapegrace then placed her boot on top of his head and smeared his face into the filthy gravel of the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, a choir of screams sounded all around her as people saw what she was doing to who they thought was nothing but an innocent boy. But in this moment, they didn't exist. She could barely hear how the children cried and many people whipped out their phones to call the authorities. Many of them described with trembling voices just how petrifying the whole situation was. Some of them couldn't even get out full sentences from the sheer terror that wracked through their bodies.

"STOP! PLEASE STOP!" Ronnie begged for mercy, but it was fruitless. She didn't listen to even one of his words. She just kept on digging his face into the sidewalk before she lifted her foot off of his skull. He sighed with relief, thinking she had taken his words into consideration. For just a split second, he thought she would grant him this mercy. But much to his dismay, instead of backing away and just letting him be, she flipped him over onto his back with her blood stained boot and stomped down on his nose and entire face. His shrieks were somewhat muffled from the sole of her shoe, but then she moved on from his face to his neck. He choked and gagged awfully at this move but she didn't let up.

He thought he could hear her growling "die, die" under her breath. But she sounded like a wild animal when she did so.

Just like she did before, she bent her body down and took a hold on his head. Her fingers wrapped around his jawline and she tugged and tugged on him. What she was about to do next was something he almost couldn't comprehend. She was able to throw him over his body with little effort, but there was no way she was able to do this, right? Even for someone-or something like her. It just wasn't possible. There was no way in hell.

That didn't stop her though. She yanked even tighter like she was struggling to pull something out from under something else than weighed a ton. Soon, the pain was just unbearable at this point and he could feel the skin of his neck start to slowly tear open. His eyes widened at this realization while blood poked out and started seeping down onto the sidewalk.

This wasn't possible this wasn't possible this wasn't possible.

This wasn't possible, but she was doing it anyway.

With not even so much as a grunt, she continued lugging away, ignoring how his screeches caused for everyone around them to panic. She ignored his pegging and his pleading for her to just leave him alone. She ignored it all and only focused on literally ripping his head off with her bare hands. Something that no one had ever seen her do before, she mainly only stuck to using her dagger to execute her victims. But since she didn't have her signature melee on her at the moment, she had to improvise.

Defying the law of logic for the second time, she eventually detached his head completely off his body, holding it close to her chest as if it were a prize. There was no doubt in anyone's mind at this point.

Scapegrace was a monster.


	10. Death of a Bachelor

**Gerard's POV**

School was over by now, and I was waiting for Winter to come meet me up in the classroom like usual. For the past two months, our relationship so far was going better than I expected. Though the only dates we went on were at the same cafe that she and I seemed to favor over anything else. I wanted to take her on a real date, though. She deserved more than just daily coffee trips and then me escorting her back home. We have hung out outside of school sometimes. Though it's never for more than a few hours since we both have busy schedules. I'm almost always buried with piles upon piles of assignments to grade and give back to the class, she is always at home with her mother, cooped up in her room and working on the assignments she receives from my class. That, and she takes frequent trips to the cemetery to visit her deceased girlfriend quite often.

I've thought about asking to tag along with her, but I had a strong feeling that this was something she always wanted to do alone. Me being there with her while she stares at this headstone belonging to her first real love probably didn't seem appealing to her in the slightest and I wasn't going to make her go through that just for the sake of being with her more often. Even though it was something I did want, I still respected her need for solitude sometimes.

I sighed while thinking about this and placed the last of papers in my satchel. I was just about to sling it over my shoulder and lean against the desk when I heard an all too familiar tapping on my door and the soft voice of my _girlfriend_. Man, it felt to good to be able to call her that.

"Gerard?" she called while poking her head in through the door. I saw her in all her glory and opened my arms up wide, inviting her in. She walked in, closing the door behind her and embraced me back. I squeezed her body tightly against mine and inhaled her strawberry scent, something I always seem to do whenever we hugged. She then pulled her head back slightly, stood on her toes and planted a kiss on my lips. I grinned at this and kissed her back, keeping one of my hands on the back of her head as I did so.

"I missed you all day," I whispered into her ear. I think it came off a bit more seductive than I intended, but instead of being off-put by it, Winter looked up at me with a small smile and half lidded eyes.

"I missed you too, Sir." she purred back up at me. Without warning, my eyes expanded a little bit and my lips went into an 'o' shape while I felt the heat start to spread quickly in my cheeks.

_Sir._

I didn't know why but hearing her call me _sir_ made my face flush and my already tight jeans to grow tighter. Oh god, this was not happening right now, I had to get a hold of myself, and fast before she got weirded out. 

"Gee, are you okay?" Winter asked sweetly. I nodded my head, trying to prevent her from looking down and seeing the...package...I had down there. Goddammit, why did this have to happen to me now, of all times? I will admit, I have gotten a bit...aroused while thinking about this Asian Beauty, but it was always when I was completely alone and no one was around to chastise me for it, or interrupt me in my little _sessions_.

"D-Don't worry, I'm fine!" I stammered a bit. Shit, that wasn't my thing, I don't stutter! "H-How was your day, Sugar?" I did my best to divert her suspicions. She till gave me an odd yet concerned look, but nevertheless, went on to answer my question.

"It was...It was fine, I guess. Aaron and Ronnie have gone through great lengths to avoid even making eye contact with me like usual, so that's good...Although Ronnie's been missing for quite some time." She noted. Huh, that was strange. Ronnie was missing? Tch! Knowing him, it was because he was skipping school to go party and act like a dumb fuck with all of his other senior buddies. Getting drunk and sleeping with bimbo's, it was practically all these rich kids lived for. But then again, if that were the case, then wouldn't Aaron go along with him? They were pretty much inseparable, so this didn't make much sense at all.

"That is a bit weird." I agreed with her. She still didn't look too convinced that I was okay, however. She leaned up and pressed the back of her hand to my forehead and gasped slightly.

"You're hot!"

I attempted to turn the situation around and get her to not worry, at least not as much.

"Why thank you, Sugar~"

This time, it was her turn for her face to go cherry red and I smirked, knowing I was the reason for that. A high pitched whine sounded from the back of her throat and she hit me slightly in the arm. "You're such an ass!" but she laughed anyway, so I knew she wasn't actually calling me an ass. Although I probably would deserve it. Because let's face it, I am kind of an asshole.

"seriously Gerard, what's wrong?" she leaned even closer to me to get a better look at my face and I chuckled nervously.

"Don't worry about me sweetheart, nothing's wrong I promise." I tried to assure her, but I could tell she still didn't believe me. She was sweet and she always had the best intentions, but she alongside that, she was also pretty stubborn, like me. Although I could understand it in this situation. If she were acting the way I was right now, I'm certain I would give up until I knew exactly what was wrong with her. It actually warmed my heart to know that she cared about me possibly just as much as I cared about her. But that didn't change the fact that my little situation down there wasn't getting any better.

I don't even know why her referring to me as Sir got me so riled up like this, people in class call me that all the time I don't even realize it. But when it came from her mouth, it made me feel very dominant over her in a sense that I should not be feeling, especially towards someone as young as her. But I just couldn't help it, she had me wrapped around her little finger and she didn't even know it.

"Are you positively sure...?" she interrogated further. She took a step even closer to where I had no choice but to lean back and sit on my desk while she stared at me, looking deep into my eyes and searching for any sign that I could be fibbing.

"You're lying."

Dammit. She found me out. I gulped and couldn't bring myself to say anything else, which only prompted for her concern to grow even more. While never breaking eye contact with me, she pressed her body further onto mine and went in for a kiss on the cheek while she started to say something like how I didn't have to hide anything from her. But she stopped mid sentence when I felt her lightly brush against my...situation. It silently begged for someone to take care of it, but I wasn't going to be the one to pressure her into that kind of thing.

Strangely enough, instead of getting repulsed as I had expected, she looked back up at me and raised a seemingly curious brow.

"I think I've found what's bothering you." she seemed to take some amusement from the situation at hand and this only caused for my humiliation to increase. She pressed herself even closer to me and pressed her lips onto mind in a passionate kiss that happened quite often, but this time around it only caused for things to heat up even more for me. My jeans were tighter than what was comfortable and I could feel myself leaking a bit from how sultry her body language was. She never acted like this before, it was amazing how she went from this insanely shy girl who couldn't even look me in the eye to someone who was bold enough to do something like this. This just turned me on even more and I pulled her onto my lap where she could really feel what was going on down there. Both of her legs were on either side of my hips and I kept her firmly in place, making sure she didn't slip off of me or anything like that.

The fiery lip lock got more heated as the seconds ticked by, and soon my hands were venturing to beneath her shirt. They weren't on her chest or anything, they just laid dormant on the bare skin of her waist and she removed herself from my lips only to start kissing my neck. With her arms around my shoulders, I leaned my head to the side, allowing for her to have better access. The feeling of her teeth nipping ever so slightly at my skin and then her tongue gliding over the little bites to sooth it made me let out involuntary moans here and there and my hands around her waist tightened.

"Oh god, what are you doing to me, Sugar..." I trailed off. I felt myself start to throb down there even more prominently than before and my breath hitched.

"Do you w-want me to stop?" she pulled away from my neck to look me in the eyes again.

"No, but what I want doesn't matter. The question is, do _you_ want me to stop?"

"But you haven't done anything." she blinked.

"No, but if you give me the go-ahead, that's about to change real quick."

Her eyes widened and I grew even more at the sight of her face going bright pink. God, this girl really had no idea just what she did to me. I swear, I could stare at her all day if she let me.

"I just don't want to make you feel like we have to do this, because you don't." I assured her. I really didn't want her to feel as if I expected this from her. I wanted her to know that I would just up and leave her if she decided she didn't want to go through with this. I wouldn't think any more or any less of her, and I hoped to god she knew that.

"I-I don't feel like that, Gee. I'm okay with it, really."

I pulled her even closer to me, to the point where my breath hit her nose. "Are you absolutely sure?"

She nodded. "I am."

I took a moment to just keep gazing into her eyes, searching just like she was, for anything that could have told me she didn't want to go through with this. I know I'm a horny little shit, and I can be quite perverted, but I wasn't enough of a cunt to pressure anyone else into going to that level of intimacy with me. When I found nothing but passion and infatuation in them, I took this as a good sign, and slowly leaned in to kiss her once more. I was cautious in doing so, waiting for her to protest against me. But she never did.

I licked her bottom lip, sort of as a way of asking for permission. She parted her lips gladly and I took my time in delving my tongue into her mouth. We haven't gone much further than Frenching very often but when we did, I always savored her taste that I had to say was similar to mine in that there was one prominent flavor that nearly concealed another less noticeable one. For us, that was the taste of cigarette's.

Soon, my hands got to work in undoing the buttons of her red silky blouse and I saw her lacy black bra underneath. She grew a little bashful at being so exposed like this, so to make things seem a bit less one sided, I worked in getting my vest off and shrugged it somewhere onto the ground. After which, I quickly undid my shirt and it soon joined my vest. I was left without a shirt while she was on my lap, and her eyes trailed over my figure.

"Like what you see?"

She reluctantly nodded and I smirked. "Your turn, baby." I whispered into her ear. She went to slip off her shirt by herself, but I stopped her and took the liberty of doing it for her. I made sure to take it slow and easy, so as not to freak her out too much. I licked my lips at the sight of her in nothing but a skirt and her undergarments while straddling me, and suddenly everything just got so much more hotter.

I leaned forward and attacked her neck like she did mine, except, I was much more faster in my actions and I bit a little harder, which she didn't seem to mind. I heard these perfect little moans emitting from her mouth, and I wanted to badly to hear them be louder than they actually were. There wasn't anyone else in the lego building besides us anyway. But I had something else in store for her, somehow it almost seemed better.

In lightning speed, I had her laying on her back on top of my desk and I took to trailing sloppy kisses all the way down her body in a slow, sensual fashion. Her breath hitched at my actions, which only encouraged for me to continue. Soon, I reached the hem of her short black, pleated skirt and I glanced up at her, looping my fingers, ready to pull it off of her.

"P-Please," she stammered. I took this as a yes, and I rapidly tugged it off of her body, leaving her in nothing but her black undergarments. I licked my lips at seeing her to bare and vulnerable, on my desk. My jeans tightened even more if that were even possible. I then took my tie, hovered over her and started stroking her bangs back away from her eyes. As I did this, I spoke in a low voice. Almost a whisper.

"I'm gonna gag you, baby. Are you okay with me doing this?"

She waited for a moment before nodding her head, 'yes' and I immediately sprung into action. With my body weight holding her down, I told her to open and she obeyed me without question. I stuffed the tie into her mouth and then tied it firmly around the back of her head.

"Stay still for me, baby." I told her before I left her laying nearly half naked on my desk and locked the door so as to not have anyone walking in on what we were about to do. That would certainly put a damper on things. I returned to her shortly after and she looked at me with her big, sparkling manga eyes. I trailed my hands all over her body, feeling her all over and listening to her breathing pace pick up. I think I much liked this better than having her on top of me, as much as I loved the feeling of her lips on my neck, I think I preferred to be the one in control.

"M'gonna make you feel so good, Sugar, so fucking good." I moaned. My hands found their way to her underwear and I waited a few seconds before stripping her completely of them, leaving her entirely exposed for me. She tried crossing her legs over her abdomen to hide herself, but I gently pulled her legs apart from each other and pressed fluttery kisses along the inside of both of her thighs.

"Don't be shy around me, sweetheart, I promise I'll take real good care of you." I purred. She mumbled out what was probably an "o-okay", but it was highly muffled by my tie. I smiled at this and looped my hands around her thighs, pulling her closer to me. The next thing I knew, I was in between her legs, pressing my mouth right onto the sensitive bundle of nerves that had her arching her back and moaning a high pitched moan into my tie.

I started off slow, just to ease her into the flow of things. Her fingers laced themselves into my hair, not quite pulling it yet, so I started going in faster and harder, making her muffled moans grow louder. That's when I felt my hair being tugged on, probably unintentionally, yet even so, I enjoyed it so much.

Soon, her body began to tremble underneath me and I only picked up my pace, doing my best to make sure she was loving this as much as I was. I tasted her completely, and I loved it. I delved my tongue right into her, something she clearly wasn't anticipating and gasped.

"Are you a virgin, baby?" I inquired. She tried to say something, so I momentarily pulled myself away from her and lifted the tie up out of her mouth to allow her to speak coherently.

"N-Not exactly, I-I've done...things with people before, but only with girls, a-and I never..." she trailed off. I got the drift of what she was saying, though. She's been intimate with people before, but she's never had penetrative sex. Oh this was gonna be fun. I smiled down at her and placed the tie back into its rightful place in her mouth.

"Don't worry Sugar, I'll go nice and easy on you, okay?"

She nodded. I then went back to what I was originally doing, which was eating her out. I picked back up where I left off, which was fast and hard, which made her jump a bit. I held her down with one hand while I used my other to slip a couple fingers into her, to get her used to the stretch a bit. She gasped again at this action, but it was clear she liked it. Looks like I was doing good so far.

I continued suckling on the most sensitive part of her, and soon added a third finger to the equation. It wasn't long until I felt her tremble underneath me and I pumped them faster and faster. Her moans turned into airy gasps and her trembling increased, and I knew she had just reached her climax. I didn't stop though, until all the waves of pleasure had died down and even then, it took me a while to pull myself away. I did eventually, though, and then went to unbuckle my belt and pull my jeans down to my ankles along with my boxers.

"You ready, sweetheart? I promise, I'll go easy on you." I assured. She reluctantly nodded and I once again, reminded her that if she wanted me to stop, I would do so no questions asked. Once I clarified that she was completely okay with this, I leaned myself over and got into position before ever so slowly sliding my way into her. I was only halfway in and already, she was shaking and I started massaging her hair to comfort her. I was careful in going all the way in, but once I was, her trembling kept at the same rate, so I stayed still to get her used to this. Although, I was shaking as well, just aching to start thrusting in at the pace I was used to, which was fast and rough. But the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her. So I waited until I felt like it was alright to move without her crying out.

Once again, I started off slow and gradually picked up my pace. I sighed in relief, feeling her tight around me and I grabbed a hold of one of her legs, holding it to her chest in order to get a better angle. It worked, and quite well might I add. She moaned louder through the gag and I grinned in satisfaction. I then picked up the speed, slamming into her  and making her body lurch across the table only to yank her back against me. I could tell she was struggling with where to place her hands, but they eventually came to rest on either side of her, clawing at the wood and leaving very subtle nail marks and chipping her black nail polish.

"God-you're so good, so good..." I moaned out, reveling in the feeling of her tightness squeezing me and getting life out of her dampened cries of pleasure. I was drilling into her at this point, occasionally leaning down to kiss her lips, tasting the addictive strawberry of her mouth. Before long, her moans increased in length and the shaking began again, and I knew she had reached her orgasm. I didn't slow down, though. Instead, I fucked her through it until a few moments, I felt myself getting close as well.

My thrusts slowed down dramatically, and I cursed myself when my voice let out a cracked moan, but I couldn't help it, and I released inside of her. I wasn't worried about the fact that I wasn't using protection, she's told me beforehand that she was taking birth control for a few months now. We had a conversation about the whole thing a while ago, but I wasn't focused on that right now. Right now, I was too distracted with the overwhelming pleasure that wracked through my body, and soon, I was left panting over her until I finally pulled out and left another kiss on her cheek.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" I slowly untied the gag and she gasped out loud while I leaned down over her in between her legs, light running my hands along her hip bone and the sides of her waist.

Panting, she said "Y-Yes."

We both helped each other out in getting dressed. She buttoned up my shirt and I adjusted her school blazer around her shoulders before we made sure our appearances didn't make it look like we just fucked in the classroom. We left shortly after, grabbing coffee like we usually did and talking with each other until we reached her apartment. We both stood in front of each other right by her door and things went silent for a moment. I slowly raised my hand and touched her upper arm.

"I hope today was good for you, I hope you don't feel like I expected this from you."

She shook her head.

"I told you, Gerard, I know it's not like that. I trust you."

_I trust you._

This was a huge thing for her, I knew because ever since she lost her girlfriend, I learned of how distrusting she was of most people. If I remembered correctly, she wasn't even fully trusting of her own mother, so the fact that she was expressing this sort of thing to me meant a lot. More than I think either of us realized. The fact that she trusted me even more than she did her own mother was a bit concerning but at the same time, it made me feel like this whole relationship we have going on is going to work out very well.

"I love you." I blurted out without thinking. I clamped my mouth shut right after the words slipped from my mouth, but it was too late to take them back now, not that I really wanted to. But right now might not have been the best time to say them. It's been only two months and I wasn't sure what her definition of too early was.

"G-Gerard-"

"I'm sorry!" I cut her off. The next thing I knew, I pressed a light kiss to her lips and ran off, heart thumping against my rib cage and breath heavy.


	11. You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison

**Gerard's POV**

I returned home later that afternoon after blurting out the words "I love you" without thinking clearly to my girlfriend of two and a half months. The entire way home, my heart wouldn't stop beating its fists against my rib cage and I'm sure my eyes were about twice their regular size. I wasn't able to will myself to calm down until I slowly tread up the stairs to Mikey and I'd apartment. From behind the door, I could hear him singing along to Elvis's _Jailhouse Rock_ and probably dancing around like a moron as well. I paused briefly, taking a huge breath and turning the doorknob. The thought of him prancing around the living room to this song made me feel a little less flustered, mainly because if he started to make fun of me for my cherry red face, then I could immediately shoot back at him by bringing up his inability to dance without looking like a work having a seizure.

I opened the door expecting to see Mikey swiveling his hips and pretending he was Freddy Mercury or something, but instead, he was seated at the kitchen counter with his laptop open in front of him. He was sitting up straight, eyes narrowed and his fingernails were practically non existent. I wondered what could have possibly gotten him to anxious. It didn't have anything to do with Scapegrace, did it?

My stomach churned at the thought of that psychotic bitch ever coming near my brother, or god forbid...my girlfriend. It's amazing how quickly my aura can change, less than ten seconds ago my body was flushed and I was sure my face would explode from the heat. But now, I felt my previous blush lessen slowly and I approached Mikey, who was oblivious to my presence until I walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and snatched a water bottle from the shelf. He instantly looked up at me with those same narrowed eyes as before. I flipped the water bottle in the air once before twisting it open and taking a big gulp.

"Everything okay Mikes?"

Mikey slammed the laptop shut and gave me a suspicious look. It was that same look he would always give me when we were children, that look he wore when he knew I had done something bad. I almost felt like a twelve year old now, and I had neglected to clean my room or I was currently failing all of my classes. He always gave me that look when he knew I was guilty, and I would always know when and how I deserved it. But this time, I had no clue as to what I possibly could have done. Unless it had something to do with Winter, then I couldn't think of anything. Besides, Mikey knew beforehand that I was interested in her, he told me he knew from the second I first spoke her name to him. He told me he was fine with our romance together, just as long as I wasn't stupid about it, and she truly made me happy.

I was of course, both of these things. So really, there was no reason for that god damn look. Unless he found somehow found my porn collection. I'm just joking, I don't have one. At least, none he is capable of finding.

"Stop looking at me like that." I said awkwardly while slipping off my trench coat. His gaze on me only intensified and at this point, I was a bright red laser beam would protrude from his pupil's and burn a hold right through me like some sort of cyborg, it was that deadly. Whatever it was that was bothering him, it had to be something major.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Gerard?"

"Excuse me?" I reeled back, setting my bottle down on the counter and leaning my body towards him.

"Don't play fucking stupid!" he yelled. My eyes widened at this and I took my body off the counter. Yeah. He was definitely angry with me. I just wasn't sure why. I was about to ask him what it was I did this time, when he opened the laptop back up again and turned the screen for me to see. I sighed and started scanning the article he had pulled up. Upon seeing the title, my breath hitched once more and I got this familiar sinking feeling in my chest. I knew she wouldn't stay inactive for much longer.

_Hastings' Student Ronald Mason Killed and Body Reported Missing_

After reading the article, I learned that people reported seeing someone (no doubt Scapegrace) tear his head off of his body with their bare hands, and later the body never turned up. They knew he was dead, but his corpse was nowhere to be found. I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head when I got done reading the article, and Mikey turned the computer back around so it was facing him. He shut it again, and continued giving me that same look like he thought I was the one who killed the kid. As much as I really wanted to, I was against that. I only wanted to scare him and his good-for-nothing friend enough to finally leave Winter the hell alone. I was fed up with them being the reason she always went home crying.

"So another kid went missing, nothing new. Everyone knows Scapegrace is always out for blood." I said casually, hoping this would get him to stop looking at me like that. But much to my dismay, it only got worse, I could see his eyes darken the longer he started. I would be a liar if I said I wasn't intimidated in the slightest by this. When we were kids, I once pissed myself just from that expression alone. I'm more than certain that Mikey is the only person who is able to do that to me.

"What?" I finally grew fed up with the silence and I demanded an answer. He couldn't possibly think I was responsible for that boy's disappearance!

"A while ago, you told me you wanted to rip those boy's heads off because of how poorly they treated your girlfriend. Am I wrong?" he tilted his head, testing me. I sighed.

"No, you're not wrong. Mikey, what are you getting at?"

He scoffed, and shook his head again. I really wasn't understanding what he was trying to tell me. I know he wasn't about to suggest something as absurd of me possibly being the culprit to this heinous crime.

"Don't make me say it, Gerard."

"Say what?" I raised my eyebrows. Sometimes, I wished he would just get straight to the point of these things instead of making my guess for five minutes before finally accusing me of whatever it was he was suspecting me of.

"You fucking killed him, didn't you!?"

My eyes were the size of dinner plates when those words left his mouth and I could feel my hand begin to shake at the mere thought of it. I tried to tell myself that this couldn't be what he was thinking. My brother knows me better than that, he knows I wouldn't just go out and murder a high school student of all people, simply because I didn't like them.

"You're accusing _me_ of offing that little fuck head?"

"Who else would it be?" he shot back. With clenched fists, I yelled back at him.

"Um, I don't know, maybe the same sociopath who's been killing people left and right for the past year!? You know, the gremlin who wears that creepy mask and only speaks in animalistic growls?"

Mikey rolled his dark green, borderline hazel eyes and walked around the counter to stand in front of me. He brandished his index finger and pointed harshly at my chest. It's times like these where I missed being able to stand up straight and tower over him like when we were younger. Sigh. Now he's a whopping one inch taller than I am, and I no longer have that advantage. What a shame.

"Was it not _you_ who told me how much you wanted to use their head as a soccer ball because of the way they were handling your little date mate?"

"That doesn't mean I was actually going to do that, Mikey! You know me, man, I wasn't the one who tore the kid's head off!"

"And I'm supposed to believe that?"

"You're my brother! Yes!"

"Just because I'm your brother doesn't mean I'm just going to ignore it when you mindlessly go out and kill someone; much less one of your students!"

I almost grew fed up at this point. I suppose he did have a point, the amount of times I've shattered a glass in my hands at just the thought of those boys going near my girl was impossible to count. He has seen me get pretty fired up after finding out about how they hit on her and insulted her at the same time. And when they made her cry, it took all of my self control not to head over there and rip their necks out with my teeth. But I never did. I wasn't one for mindless killing, as Mikey just accused me of.

"I can promise you, I did not kill Ronald Mason!" I defended, though it was in vain because all he did was cross his arms and proceed in looking at me like I belonged behind bars. "I confronted him once, _once_ a while ago. Both him and his friend. I didn't hurt them, I just gave them a scare to get them to leave Winter alone, that's all that happened, you have to believe me, Mikes." I reasoned. He still wasn't convinced. The only thing he did was roll his eyes and shove me lightly by my shoulder. I stumbled back a bit, but I didn't fall over. His voice got louder the longer he argued, and I hated it. It was very rare when Michael ever raised his voice, especially at me. More often than not, he kept his voice to a minimum. But the fact that he was doing this here and now just proved to me just how pissed off he was. I hated seeing him like this.

"You're better than this!" he screamed.

"I know I am! That's why I didn't do it!"

"Bullshit!" he cursed. He shoved me again, but I refrained from shoving back. No matter what, I wouldn't ever put my hands on my brother like that no matter how angry or annoyed I got with him. "Ever since you started dating this Winter Kylo-

" _Kirijo."_ I corrected.

"Whatever! Ever since you've been interested in her, you've been so over protective of her like she's your daughter or something!"

"Come one, Mikey don't say that! That's fucking incestuous!"

"I'm just saying! You speak of her as if she's this fragile little Russian doll made of glass!"

I wanted to defend myself again and say that wasn't true; I don't talk about her like that at all. But after a split second of thinking it over, he was kind of right. I have been talking about her and even treating her like was a delicate little flower. But I couldn't help it, it was always in my nature to defend those who are smaller than me. Especially her.

"What do you want to do? She's less than five foot tall and looks like you'd crush her to death just by hugging her too hard!"

"And you're sleeping with that less-than-five-foot-tall little girl?"

"She's not a little girl! And you said you were fine with this arrangement!" I brought up. Mikey stepped back for a moment, but his glare on me never faltered. I saw him take a big gulp to calm his senses before he said anything else stupid.

"I'm sorry, Gee, but can you blame me for thinking you did this? You did say you wanted to castrate them yourself the next time you saw them."

I nodded.

"Yes. I did say those things. But you know I wouldn't ever put those thoughts into action, I do actually have self control." I finished. He seemed to consider my words and for a moment, I thought he would just drop the subject altogether. Although I suppose I sort of understand why he would think me to be the killer here, but he should also know that I haven't acted on my violent desires in years upon years. I've learned to keep from hurting anyone who doesn't truly deserve it. Yes, I shook those boys up pretty good, I saw real fear in their eyes when I looked into them. But I wasn't nearly savage enough to rip a man's head clean right off his body with my bare hands. That was who Scapegrace was, that wasn't who I was.

"Mikey, please." I tried to put my hand on his shoulder and maybe even go in for a hug. But instead of reciprocating my attempts, he slapped my hand away and stormed out of the kitchen. I watched as he angrily shoved his feet into his Chuck Taylor's, absentmindedly put on his pea coat and walk out through the front door. The picture's and drawings that hung on the wall rattled from the impact, and I'm pretty sure one of them even went clattering to the floor. But I didn't pay attention to it, it didn't matter right now. What mattered was that my little brother now thinks I'm a ruthless murderer just like Scapegrace and it made my heart ache.

Instead of going out and chasing after him like I really wanted to do, I sauntered over to the couch and sat down slowly, taking time to process the fight we just had, and the words we said to each other in our heated exchange. Granted, this wasn't that bad of an argument, we've certainly gotten into worse. But nevertheless, I still hated it all the same. Fighting was not something we ever did as kids, and it wasn't something I wanted to start doing with him now that we're both adults. I didn't want to ruin our streak of maintaining our best friend status. My brother has always meant the world to me, and it absolutely killed me inside whenever he was upset with me.

I ran my hands through my hair and leaned back into the couch. I wasn't sure what would happen from here, and I wasn't sure how long Mikey would stay livid at me for. I wanted so badly to reach into my pocket, dial Winter's number and have her come over here with me, but I knew Mikey wouldn't be okay with that just yet, plus I also wasn't sure I could face her after that little stunt I pulled before we left. For all I knew, she could be thinking up ways to break up with me at this very moment.

God, I hoped not.


	12. Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back

**Winter's POV**

It was a Friday after noon, school had just let out and the recent news pertaining to Ronald Mason (aka my long time bully of three years) was released. After people witnessed Scapegrace rip his head off with nothing but her own two hands, his body had been missing for quite some time until it was found this morning in his bedroom. Of course, his head was missing and his actual body was maimed to the point of being almost unrecognizable. The only reason authorities were able to determine who it was, was by the Hastings Academy blazer it adorned and his school ID lodged into his front pocket. I could only imagine what his parents might be going through at this moment, but even so, I couldn't help but feel relieved that there was now one less delinquent I had to deal with during school. That only left Aaron, and for weeks now, he has not made any attempt to antagonize me. He seems terrified of me for reasons I'm not sure of, and after what happened with Ronnie, that terror only increased. At this point, he was at school for maybe two out of the five day week, and he ditched a majority of his classes.

Whatever it was that got him to be like this, I was thankful. I don't necessarily hate the boy, but after all the misery he and Aaron have put me through for the past three years you can't blame me for feeling a twinge of satisfaction when I hear that they finally get what they deserved. I'm not a murderer by any means, and I certainly had no plans to confront them by myself. But I guess it was never out of the realm of possibility for me to go down that route, especially all that has happened with my lover and best friend.

I soon shook these thoughts out of my head and watched as Gerard made his way from the lego building to meet me at our usual spot. He grinned once he saw me and opened up his arms for me to dive into; which I did. They enclosed around me, making me feel safe and protected and I took in the scent of his nearly concealed tobacco on his breath. His large, calloused hands rubbed my back before we pulled away so as not to arouse suspicion by any other students or staff members. It wasn't until we were off campus and headed to Cafe Grumpy did he take my hand in his and intertwine our fingers like mating vines.

"How was your day, my little snowflake?" he asked after pressing a light kiss to my knuckles, to which I giggled and hid my face in embarrassment.

"It was okay I guess," I started. "Pretty uneventful-well, other than the whole fiasco with Ronnie."

I felt Gerard's hand tense up at the mention of Scapegrace's heinous crimes. I've come to gather that Gerard really didn't like Scapegrace one bit, and for good reason I suppose. It's only been a few months since school started and already, she's killed two of its students. If I were in his position, I think I would be just as weary when even talking about. With this in mind, I started thinking of ways to change the subject and instead, talk about comic books or something. I know he has a thing for comics, especially ones about superheroes. _Jennifer Blood_ is the one I see him reading the most. How quaint; the theme of vigilante's seems to be all over the place, lately.

"Speaking of Ronnie..." he started before I got a chance to intervene. He stopped us by a concrete bench just a few meters away from Cafe Grumpy's entrance and held me firmly by the shoulders. His gaze burned into me, and if it were anyone else, I would have been feeling extremely uncomfortable, the way his eyes just bore into mine was unsettling.

"Winter, baby, I'm worried about you." he finally said. I blinked and tilted my head back a little.

"Me?"

He nodded.

"But there's nothing to be worried about." I said back at him. He shook his head again, and I knew that that wasn't enough to ease his tension. His hands were clenched so tightly, my shoulders started to throb. But I didn't say anything about it, instead, I just stared back at him and waited for him to go on because I knew he had a lot more to say about the subject matter. He always does.

"Yes there is, Sweetheart. Scapegrace is armed, dangerous, and out for blood." he whispered so only I could hear him. "As you know, the only two people she's gone after so far, are high school students. Specifically, students at the Academy."

"Well-okay that is a little scary." I admitted.

"A little?"

"You're not suggesting she'll come after me...are you?" Gerard stopped after I asked this, but I was certain it wasn't because he was at a loss for words. I could tell he had so much more to tell me, he just wasn't sure how. In all honesty, I hoped he would just drop it right then and there, but if there is anything I know about him so far, it was that he didn't just let things go very easily.

"I-I'm not saying she will, but can you blame me for being a little worried?"

I stared down at my black flats, then let out a fatigued sigh. What I wouldn't give to just lay down and go to sleep at this very moment..."I guess not."

"I just want to be sure that you aren't in any danger. I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to you." he took my hands in his once more and pressed them to his chest as if he were holding a handful of precious jewels. His lips came down to kiss mine and I responded instantly with the same gesture. My heart warmed at his constant need to show me affection and praise, and I could only hope I had the same, or at least a similar affect on him.

"I think I'll be okay, Gee." I assured him.

"I'm still worried about you." he took his hand and tucked a few strands of loose jet black hairs behind my ear. The feeling of his cool fingers brushing against my face almost made me want to fall asleep standing up, and his deep, sultry chuckle only increased that sensation. But I kept myself from dozing off and met his eyes once more. He gave me a serious look yet still remained sweet and comforting. "I wanna be there to protect you, always." he whispered.

"How are you gonna do that?" I laughed lightly. I almost considered the idea of him coming home with me, not in a dirty way, but I shrugged the thought away. He wouldn't go that far, not that I would mind, really.

"Well..." he trailed off. "If you're okay with it-I wouldn't even have to come inside-I-I..." he stumbled horribly, which only further prompted my laughter. He shot me a playful glare, knowing that I knew what he was trying to ask me. He did want to come home with me.

"I wouldn't be opposed to that, but what about your brother? Wouldn't he get worried?" I didn't know much about his brother, I think his name is Michael, but I did know that those two are practically inseparable. Just like I was best friends with my dead girlfriend, Naomi, his little brother meant the world to Gerard and he would lose his mind if something ever happened to him. And he wanted to come home with me, and protect me when Scapegrace could just as easily go after him. And in addition to that, Michael would be all by himself. I, on the other hand, at least lived with my mother. Granted, she and I barely ever interact with each other even when we are home at the same time, but at least I had someone. I didn't understand why Gerard thought I was the one in need of more protection, and I was tempted to bring this up to him. What if Michael was the one in real danger here? How was that fair in the slightest? I held my tongue, though, and offered a soft smile.

"Mikey will be okay. Besides, as I've said before, Scape seems to be targeting students in particular. That includes you, and I won't let that happen." Gerard pulled me closer to him by the waist. "I care about you so much, baby. You understand, right?"

With the caress of his cheek, I nodded my head. "I do...Just, are you sure your brother will be okay?"

"He will be just fine." he assured me. I eventually nodded and we began walking towards my home after getting our coffee. On the way there, we briefly forgot about Scapegrace and her reign of terror. Instead of dwelling on the criminal of New York City, we talked about other things like music, and the film industry, and our opinions on where society as a whole is headed. We both got pretty lost in our conversation, so much so that we were surprised when we finally got to our destination in what seemed like only five minutes when really, it took about a half hour. Time flies when you're having fun, I suppose.

I fumbled in my coat pocket for a moment before bringing out my key and turning the lock. I opened the door and was about to step inside, when I realized Gerard was still awkwardly standing there, twiddling his thumbs and staring at his feet. I stared for a moment, waiting for him to do something until I gave up.

"Gerard." I called. He snapped his head up to look at me with dooey eyes. I nudged my head towards the inside. "Are you coming?"

His mouth went into an 'o' shape, like he wasn't expecting for me to invite him inside. He did say he didn't have to come in, but I wasn't about to leave him out here in the cold. What kind of person would I be if I did do that?

He cautiously stepped past me and into my humble abode. I shut the door behind us, slipped my coat off and tossed it onto the kitchen counter. The apartment was pretty clean, almost freakishly clean in my opinion. The floor was always free of any garbage or lint, and there were a few Japanese art pieces here and there. Some contained pictures of elegant geisha's, others were of colorful landscapes and we had one called _Senbonzakura_ or _A Thousand Cherry Blossoms_. He was entranced by them for a few moments before I headed into the kitchen and grabbed a can of Rockstar for myself.

"Are you thirsty, or hungry at all?" I searched the fridge and pantry, then frowned. "We don't have much food..."

"I'm alright, sweetie."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." he answered. I closed the fridge and lead him back into my room. We walked past my mother's room and it was stock silent, just like it always is even when she was home. As I've said before, there was no real difference when she arrived. She's always glued to her laptop, working on another piece. Literature, of course. Okasaan has been a journalist for some years now, and it has taken over her whole life. It's not inherently a bad thing, at least it wasn't meth or crack that kept her busy. But sometimes, I just wished she would take a break and maybe watch a film with me. Not even that, I would be perfectly happy with just having breakfast or coffee with her every once in a while.

We stepped into my room, shutting the door and I dropped my satchel on the floor near the foot of my bed. Gerard, once again, was standing by my door, not sure what to do. I found it rather adorable, but I didn't want him to feel that out of place. I sat down and patted the spot next to me, gesturing for him to sit. Once he was sat beside me, I turned so I was sitting cross legged behind him and started gently tugging his trench coat off. He soon caught on to what I was trying to do, and soon it was left sprawled across my satchel. I then took my arms and looped them around his stomach and leaned my head against his back. He chuckled at my movements and reached a hand out to stroke my arm.

"You're unbelievably adorable, I hope you know that."

"Shut your mouth." I shot back.

It felt weird to have someone in my room again. I was so used to being in here all by myself, if I had known ahead of time that he would be coming back here with me, then I would have cleaned up a little. As of this moment, my floor was covered in crumpled up paper snowballs and crushed empty cans of energy drinks. On my desk, my sketchbook was wide open along with am empty wine glass. My lighter was also right next to it, and Gerard furrowed his brows a bit.

"You drink?"

I moved my head and rested it on his shoulder from behind. "Occasionally." I admitted. "It helps calm my nerves."

"Just...Just be careful with it, would ya'?"

Confused, I tilted my head and stuck my lower lip out a bit. "What's there to be careful about? I sit in my room and I drink wine by myself."

He looked as if he had a lot to say, and was about to do so. But then he stopped himself and shook his head. "Never mind, don't worry about it, Sugar." he then leaned back and pressed a kiss to my temple. The next thing I knew, he had pulled me back around his body and situated me in his lap. My legs wrapped themselves around his waist and my arms around his neck, he cradled me in his arms and left ginger kisses along the side of my neck. To say that this felt strange was an understatement. It was because of this rather intimate moment we were currently sharing; no, I think it has been well established by now that this sort of thing wasn't new to me or to him. What had me feeling so abnormal was the fact that we were doing this in my bedroom. My bedroom, which for the longest time, was like my own personal hell. I've always felt like a prisoner in here. The last time someone else came in here was a year ago, and that person was Naomi.

She used to come back home with me all the time and we would spent the majority of our time together, in this bed. We wouldn't leave unless we absolutely had to, and we spent hours upon hours exploring each others bodies and proving to each other time and time again just how much I loved her and she loved me. That woman made me feel grand, and beautiful.

Oh how the times have changed. Now she's dead, and instead of her holding me close to her chest like a protective mother, it was Gerard. He reminded me of her in more ways than one. For one, he had that same dominating yet caring nature that Naomi did, and just like she was, he always made sure I was completely safe. I think that was why I was so quick to warm up to him after he first started to befriend me. He was almost like the male reincarnation of my first real love. That says a lot. In the past thirteen months, the only people I ever interacted with on a daily basis were my mother and...well, my mother. If she could even be counted-oh, and let's not forget to mention those awful bullies who got off on making my life a living hell. But at least I didn't have to worry about them anymore, and my loneliness was beginning to make its departure for the first time in a very long time.

"Gerard."

"What is it, my snowflake?" he purred down at me. My grip on him tightened and so did his.

"Thank you." I told him. He grew perplexed at my sudden, unanticipated gratitude.

"For what? I haven't done anything."

"Thank you for taking an interest in me, and thank you for being there for me. Just...thank you..." I trailed off. He leaned his body backwards, taking me with him and soon we were both laying down on my futon bed. Well, I was pretty much just laying down on top of him. My head rested on his chest, his hands never left my body, and I didn't want them to.

"You don't need to thank me for that, baby. If anything, I should be thanking you."

"Why would you need to be thanking me?" I blinked in befuddlement.

"For not just looking at me as some odd, socially awkward, boring art teacher."

I shook my head at his words, then sat up a bit so I was straddling him while he remained in a lazy position, though his hands still rested on my hips. "I'll admit, I thought you were a little weird when you wrote your full name on the white board, but then again, normal is boring anyway."

He chuckled, one side of his lips turning up into a sexy little half smile.

"Besides, I've seen a lot weirder."

"That, I wouldn't doubt."

For the next few hours, we laid in bed together and continued our conversation during our trek to my home. We ended up kicking off our shoes, he undid a few buttons off of his shirt and when it started to get darker out, I changed into a pair of pajama shorts, a plain black spaghetti strapped tank top and a bright red kimono styled robe was draped over my shoulders. My face turned red for the millionth time we've been together so far when he saw me, and landed a playful pinch to my behind, along with a comment on how cute I looked.

"I'm gonna go grab some wine, do you want me to get you a glass?" I offered. He frowned a bit but didn't say much.

"Why don't you skip on the wine, tonight baby. It's not good for you." he pulled me closer into his body and was getting ready to yank me down back onto his lap where he would continue burying his nose in my hair, which had been liberated from the confines of my usual tight bun. I opened my mouth to say that one glass wouldn't kill me, but stopped when I heard the front door open and close and the sounds of Okaasan dropping her keys onto the kitchen counter. Gerard froze in fear, and I merely sighed.

"Do you need me to go?" he whispered. I shook my head.

"No, you can stay, I just need you to stay as quiet as possible." I whispered back just as quietly. I then held up my pointer finger, indicating for him to stay put while I left the room, making sure to shut my door and padding out into the living room where Okaasan was cracking open a can of Rockstar. I stood on the other side of the counter from her and stared curiously. She stood taller than most at a good 5'7'' (very tall for an Asian woman) with a build that was quite similar to mine. Small, petite, yet with lightly toned muscles. Her hair was a bright auburn color, which was also my natural hair color. It was quite weird, most of the women on my mother's side of the family were all redheads; something that was very uncommon where we came from. She looked tired, and rubbed her eyes with her index finger and thumb. Once she realized I was in the room, she gave me an absent smile that I knew wasn't real.

"Hey hun, what are you still doing up? It's getting pretty late." she spoke. I shrugged.

"Can't sleep like usual."

"Take your melatonin, that should help." It never did.

"But Oka-"

"I have to go work on the front page article, honey. I'll see you tomorrow." she didn't let me finished my thought before brushing past me and back into her own room. I sighed deeply and went back into my own room where Gerard was exactly where I left him. I'm guessing he heard our very brief conversation, because his face looked more sorrowful than when I last saw it. I put on my facade of indifference and sauntered back up to him. Just like always, he opened his arms wide, inviting me in and I gladly accepted that invitation. We collapsed back into bed, my head resting on his shoulder and both of our hands tangled together.

"It'll be okay, sweetheart. I promise." he cooed. I wanted to believe him, I really did. I wanted to believe that someday my mother and I would get past this phase of barely speaking to each other. But I'm afraid that was out of the question. She's always way too caught up in her work to give a damn about me. It's fine, though. I should be used to it by now. I'm not sure what I expected to gain out of going out there and trying to converse with her. There no point to it, it was always the same. Never lasting for more than a moment or two before one of us retreated back into the dungeons that we called our rooms.


	13. The Only Hope For Me Is You

**Winter's POV**

Gerard ended up staying with me through the entire night, and we slumbered peacefully together, his arms never letting me go. Although, neither of us really slept all that much. I wasn't sure about him, but I only dozed off for maybe ten minutes at the most. For the most part, I didn't sleep at all, but I didn't mind. I wasn't alone this time, I didn't have to suffer alone. Everything was okay.

I turned my head to look at my alarm clock and saw that it was 6:34 in the morning. The sunlight seeped in a little through the thick blankets that were hung over my window with thumbtacks and I could feel the air conditioner kicking on. Gerard saw that I was awake, and started gently stroking my bangs away from my face. "Good morning, Sugar." he greeted. I mumbled back a similar greeting and stretched out my body. I let out a high pitched whine and flinched slightly when I heard the front door open and shut. It was about that time in the morning when Okaasan leaves for work, and usually I would go out and at least make us some coffee before she left, but I was too late. She's already left, and I can hear her car speeding away out of the parking spot. With a heavy sigh, I lifted myself off the futon mattress and slipped on the kimono styled robe I had on last night, that Gerard seemed to like a lot. I looked back at him to see he was left in nothing but his boxers and a large t-shirt from my closet that I rarely ever wore. It was a black Matchbook Romance shirt that I bought a couple years ago at one of their concerts. It was way huge on me, so I just gave it to him. As I've said before, I never wear it anyway.

"Coffee?" I asked. He nodded slowly, then lifted the covers off of himself and followed me out to the kitchen where there was a half full pot of freshly made coffee, courtesy of my mother. She almost always left some for me for when I woke up and she wasn't there., so that was nice. I poured Gerard and I a mug and we both sipped in synchronization. He sighed in relief, and thanked me by the time half of his mug was gone. I giggled, it seemed he was a bit more of a coffee junkie than I was.

It felt a little odd, the both of us standing here in our underwear drinking coffee, alone in my apartment. For a brief moment, it felt like we were living together- on our own. And much to my shock, I kind of liked it. It was weird, definitely, and I knew it wouldn't happen for a very long time. I wasn't even eighteen years old yet, and we have only been together for a few months. I shook the thought away and instead, finished off the rest of my beverage. We washed out our mugs and went back into my room where he promptly lifted me off my feet and collapsed onto the bed with me on top of him. I squealed and half heartedly attempted to wrench myself away from him, but of course his strength dominated over me and I accepted my fate.

"So what do you wanna do today, baby?" he asked while nuzzling his nose into the crook of my neck. I squirmed a bit and giggled loudly. He took enjoyment out of this and continued trailing kisses along my neck while I whined and begged for him to stop. But we both knew I didn't want him to stop, ever.

"I-I don't know..." I trailed off.

"What do you usually do?" he asked again, all the while never ceasing in making me whine on top of him.

"I usually just-" I let out a desperate whine before continuing. "...just stay in my room a-and" I gasped sharply when his hand gripped the inside of my thigh. Oh that little devil...

"Why don't we try something different, hm?"he suggested. As he was feeling me all over my body, I thought about his suggestion. It was true, more often that not, I stayed in my room and I worked on my art, or one of my many incomplete short stories. The only times I left my room were to take a piss, or to get more coffee/energy drinks. I suppose it would be nice to get out of my regular routine, besides, it can get kind of suffocating sometimes.

"What were you thinking?" I queried. He thought for a moment, looking around the room. For what, I wasn't sure. But I was curious as to what exactly he had in mind for us today. Gerard continued to absentmindedly stroke my hair as he hummed in curiosity.

"Maybe we can go out and get something to eat?"

I thought about that for a moment. That wouldn't be too bad. We didn't have much food in the fridge anyway, when I checked last night the most we had were a few Nature Valley granola bars and a bag of yogurt pretzels. Obviously not enough to substitute as a full mean or anything, and overall I probably should eat more than I do.

"That sounds nice." I hummed. His hands slowed themselves down and I lifted myself from off his lap. He whined as if he were a puppy and reached his arms out to grasp for me once again.

"Where are you going?" he whined. His thick, perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowed and his lips were set in a pathetic pout that made me laugh harder.

"To get changed, what else?"

"Come baaaack!" he replied. With a shake of the head, I ignored his request and opened up my closet doors to pick something out to wear for the day. I thought about going into the bathroom to change, but decided against it since he has already seen me without any clothes on before. In fact, he's seen a lot more of me than that. So what was the point? I reached into my closet and grabbed a pair of simple black jeans and a white spaghetti strapped tank similar to the one I was wearing now. I got changed rather quickly, and so did Gerard. Although his shirt was left un-tucked and the top few buttons were undone as well. Plus, his scraggly, slightly tangled hair added that unkempt yet still oh so attractive element to his appearance. Even when he didn't try too hard on how he looked, he still managed to blow me away with just how blessed he was. I swear, he could wear a bright pink speedo and cowboy boots and he would still look fantastic.

When we were both ready to face the day, I grabbed my satchel and placed my sketchbook and my notebook inside then slipped on my black laced boots. He put on his usual black dress shoes and we were getting ready to walk to to a small little food joint. I made sure to lock the door and place the key into a little pocket in my bad.

"So is your mother always at work?" he spoke once we were a few meters away from my apartment. I tensed a bit at the mention of my mother and her constant lack of presence.

"Y-Yeah, for the most part. She leaves pretty early and doesn't get back until around midnight. Sometimes, a little earlier." I answered. He nodded and seemed to take my words into consideration. I wasn't sure what was going through his mind as we made our way down the street, but whatever he was thinking about, it seemed to take a toll on him. I hoped that he wasn't too upset, and I racked my brain for something to say to bring the mood back up a little. I hate when things get so serious and depressing. I'm already depressed enough, and I didn't want Gerard to feel the same way as I do. Nobody deserves to feel like that.

He didn't say anything else for a while, but he did wrap an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to his warm body. Just like I always did, on instinct I leaned my head into him and was tempted to close my eyes. But I didn't want to end up tripping and getting us hurt because I decided to be stupid. I had a feeling Gerard wanted to say something to make the situation better, but he didn't know how. I guess that was one thing we had in common. Neither of us knew how to deal with scenario's such as the one before us.

"Winter," he started. I craned my neck up to make eye contact with him. "I-" he was about to say something to me, when all of a sudden he stopped and held out his arm in front of me, as if to shield me from something. Puzzled, I looked straight ahead to see what he was so afraid of. and I almost wish I hadn't.

There in front of us, was a slender figure in all black. They were wearing a black hoodie, the hood pulled all the way up and they were staring down at the concrete. I couldn't see their face, but based on how skinny and feminine their physique were, it was a woman.

\-----

**Gerard's POV**

"Winter, " I started say. I was planning on telling her that I understood how she felt about her mother never spending time with her. I dealt with the same thing with my father as a child, and it even took a toll on Mikey. "I-"

I never got to start my sentence before I caught a glimpse of someone standing in the center of the sidewalk. I snapped my head up to see a woman standing there in all black. Black hoodie, black pants, black gloves...black everything. I couldn't see their face at all, but I didn't have to in order to know who it was.

It was Scapegrace.

My heart dropped to my knees when I realized who it was, and I immediately placed my arm in front of Winter as if to shield her from something. This was exactly what I was afraid of. This was exactly why I wanted to stay with Winter throughout the night. To protect her from this barbaric criminal.

"Run." I growled.

"What?" Winter looked up at me with fearful golden brown eyes that were on the verge of spilling tears. I returned her gaze with a hard look and fierce eyes.

"I said run!!" I commanded and pointed to the direction behind us. She stumbled for a moment before regaining her balance and dashing away like I told her to. I turned back to Scapegrace to see her in the same standing position, staring at the ground. From where I was, I couldn't see her respirator mask, just the top of her hood. This was my first time encountering her in real life, before now I had only seen pictures of her on the news or in articles on the internet. Never in person, and I can understand why no one wanted to cross paths with her. I felt my chest clench and my throat close up. I couldn't decipher whether or not she was about to attack or retreat. But based off of all the articles I've read and all the videos I've seen, if she looked at you for more than five seconds then you were fucked.

She never looked at me, though. Not directly. She didn't even lift her head from staring at the sidewalk. I kept my guard up, though, and was prepared to fight with necessary. I knew that every fight people had seen her get into, she always won. But I wouldn't let that happen this time.

As I was getting ready to launch my own attack, she turned around on her heels and started walking away from me. I grew extremely befuddled and tilted my head. Where the hell was she going? Why wasn't she attacking me? It wasn't that I wanted her to, but that was what she did more often than not. So why not this time?

Scapegrace soon disappeared into the crowd and lowered my hands.

What the fuck was that?

When she was gone completely, I turned back around and started going after Winter. It took me a few minutes to find where she ran off to, but I eventually found her hiding around the corner behind a supermarket. She flinched, but soon calmed down when she saw that it was me.

"Gerard, what happened?" she asked me, innocently. I didn't give her an answer, instead I snatched her hand into mine quite forcefully and started leading her back to my apartment. I didn't care if Mikey got upset that I brought her home without talking with him first. I was worried for her safety and well being, and I was gonna make damn fucking sure that Scapegrace wouldn't come within three feet of her.

We made it back to my apartment and I instantly wrenched the door open and practically shoved her inside. She yelped a bit, and I slammed the door shut, locking it in the process. I turned around to see Winter standing awkwardly near the center of the living room and Mikey was there as well. He stood behind the kitchen counter with a cup of piping hot coffee held to his face, and he stared at us quizzically. I could just feel the tension in the air.

"Everything okay?" Mikey inquired, I could tell he was skeptical about Winter being here, but he didn't seem to upset thus far.

I went up to Winter and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Go ahead and make yourself at home, sweetheart." I said into her ear. She nodded, and cautiously sat herself on the couch with her satchel clutched tightly in her lap. I looked towards Mikey and motioned for him to follow me into the hallway.

We were now standing in front of each other in his room (which was littered with anime posters and plastic figurines. It was almost terrifying.) and he let out a tired sigh.

"What's going on, Gerard?"

"We ran into Scapegrace." I stated. His eyes widened dramatically and he spat a mouthful of coffee onto the front of his shirt.

"What!? Are you two okay!? Did she attack you!?"

I shook my head. "No, she didn't attack us. I told Winter to run, and Scape just stared at me for a while before just...walking away."

"She walked away?"

"Yes."

"That doesn't sound like her."

I nodded. "It doesn't. Ten out of ten times, she always attacks so you can imagine my confusion when she just turned around and left."

Mikey thought for a moment and set his half empty coffee mug on his bookshelf where a multitude of other empty cups and cans of soda rested. "I'm guessing that's why you brought her here?"

I nodded my head, all the while, praying that he wouldn't be upset that I did. He didn't seem upset, but at the same time, he didn't sound too thrilled about her being. I guess I could understand that, since he has never met her before, and she was only sixteen years old. I hoped that he would make an exception this time around, which I know was a bit far fetched considering the fight we had just a day earlier. But this wasn't just me wanting to bring someone home to fuck. We both knew I didn't have to bring her home to do that. This was about making sure she was safe, and in a place where Scapegrace couldn't get to her.

"Please don't be mad, Mikes." I put my hand on his shoulder and gave him a pleading look. He pursed his lips.

"I'm not mad. I understand why you brought her here...I'm just a little skeptical, that's all. You know I'm just naturally like that."

"Yeah, I know." I replied. "She's really amazing though, I guarantee you'll love her. She's into the same stuff you are."

He thought about my words and eventually came to nod his head. I could still tell he was a little worried about having someone in the apartment that he didn't know well. I understood where his concerns were coming from, but I knew that in a few hours tops, he would love her just as much as I did. Well, not as much as I did hopefully or else we would have a real problem.

Mikey stood there in silence for a few seconds, his lips pursed and his hands buried in his pockets. After a while, he finally looked back up at me with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Guess we should get back out there. We don't wanna keep our guest waiting." he said. I grinned at him and patted his back a little roughly. Just as we were about to walk out, though, he stopped me one last time.

"I promise I'll look out for her. Okay?"

"Thank you, Mikey." I then pulled him into a tight hug, to which he returned. It really did make me feel a lot better to know that he would also help in keeping her safe. This was a big step for him, since the majority of the time he didn't like any of my girlfriends. But I knew things would be different this time around.

We walked out of Mikey's room and back into the living room where Winter was sat where we left her. Her legs were crossed and she picked nervously at a loose thread from her jeans. I could see a small hole forming in her knee from said loose thread, yet she still kept pulling at it. Once she realized we were back in the room, she turned her attention back towards us and stood up, back erect like a soldier.

Mikey went up to her and held out his hand for her to shake. She was a little reluctant to do so, like she was afraid of him somehow. I remember just a few months ago when she acted the same way towards me when we first met. It's insane to think just how far we've come since then. Mikey shook her hand firmly and gave her a once over.

"Hey, I'm Mikey, Gerard's brother." he introduced himself. She looked up at him, avoiding eye contact just like she did with me for the first few weeks. "You must be Winter." he finished.

"Y-Yes." she answered. Mikey let go of her hand and stepped back a bit. She proceeded to sheepishly hold her hands together behind her back. It was clear she wasn't sure what to do with herself, and I chuckled at this. It was so adorable to watch her like this, but at the same time, I knew I should probably come to her rescue soon and save her from this.

"I've heard a lot about you, Gee talks about you every moment of every day-"

"I do not!" I shot back at him. He rolled his eyes and turned back to her.

"Oh he does, he's totally crazy for you."

"Okay!" I interrupted him once again and lightly shoved him away from me. "That's enough, no more feeding my girlfriend lies!"

"Everyone knows they're not lies." Mikey clucked his tongue once before waltzing back into his room. Winter suppressed a laugh, her lips having been pursed tightly and her shoulders shook. She was trying really hard not to laugh at me. After a while of standing there and listening to her struggle to maintain her composure, I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Go ahead." I grumbled. As soon as the words left my mouth, she burst out into hysterical laughter. I crossed my arms and started leading her into my room; all the while her laughter never ceased. I could even hear Mikey laughing from inside his room. Great, they haven't even known each other for a full ten minutes and they're already teaming up to make fun of me. My little brother always had a knack for things like this. I almost wish I had been a meaner big brother when we were growing up. Throughout our entire childhood, I treated him more like a son in a way than I did my little brother. I never did things like steal his toys or lock him out of my room when he got annoying (which he never did). In any case, even if I had been more of an asshole when we were children, he would most likely still relentlessly tease and embarrass me in front of my girlfriend.

"He's cool." Winter said when she finally caught her breath and recovered from her violent fit of giggles. Mikey heard from the other side of the wall and yelled out a reply without either of us expecting it.

"Thank you!"

Winter jumped a bit, but smiled nonetheless and plopped herself down on my bed. I fell down right beside her and tugged her down with me. With a surprised yelp, she ended up laying on her side in front of me, and I took to spooning her from behind. She leaned her head back into my chest and took a deep breath.

"So what happened back there?" she turned her body to face mine head on. She was referring to the little encounter we had with Scapegrace. I told her exactly what I told my brother; that we had a mini staring contest (well, more like I was just staring at her) before she ran off without doing or saying another word. She was confused by it, and I suspected that she didn't quite believe me. It didn't sound like Scapegrace at all, after all. In any case, I still didn't trust it.


	14. That Green Gentleman(Things Have Changed)

**Winter's POV**

Things have definitely changed since the first night I brought Gerard home with me. After that encounter we had with who he said was Scapegrace, he has become more protective and solicitous over me. If that were even possible. By this point, he wasn't just coming back to my apartment with me. No, he was also taking me along with him back to _his_ apartment every single night after Okaasan would get off work. We always waited until then to leave just to be safe. Before he whisked me away out through my bedroom window, I would always greet Okaasan in the kitchen, claiming I was going to lay down and that I loved her. She always said she loved me back, but she still didn't seem to pay much attention to me. She didn't seem to care much, and simply brushed past me to go work on her front page pieces. I had to be honest, I wasn't expecting for her to be so apathetic about it. But then again, I don't know why I expected anything different than that. I've known from the beginning that she couldn't care less about what I do.

Tonight was no different from the last few weeks that Gerard has started doing this. I told her I was going to lay down, she responded with a simple "Okay," and I was left to stare at the path she walked back into her own room. The kitchen was empty now, with the exception of me of course. I pursed my lips and held back the urge to cry; for Gerard's sake. The last thing I wanted was to have him get even more worried for me. I've cried too many times in front of him, already. I didn't want him to view me as a weak little girl with a heart made of glass. So I swallowed back my tears and retreated back into my room where Gerard was taking a few of my shirts, pants and skirts, folding them neatly and placing them into my satchel.

"You don't have to do that, Gee, I got it." I said to him while crouching next to him and finishing the job.

"I know I don't have to." he replied.

He watched me close my bag after retrieving my notebooks and pencils, then held his hand out for me to take. I took it, then laced our fingers together as we always did and he shot me a kind smile. Like every other night, I'm one hundred percent certain he heard the little exchange between me and my mother. Most of the time, he doesn't say anything about it. Probably because he doesn't know what he can say. But sometimes, he'll give me this pitiful, sorry look. I'm not sure I like it too much. I know his intentions are well and he was just try to bring me comfort by letting me know he was always here for me, and I appreciated that more than anything. But I didn't want to feel like he felt sorry for me. The last thing I would ever want is pity.

"You ready to go?" he asked while pressing a kiss to my temple. I nodded my head yes, and we were off. He climbed out of the window first, then held out his arms to help me down. I slipped on through and made sure to shut the window when we were out. I wouldn't want to come home and find that a city of bugs and insects were colonizing my bedroom. Gerard and I linked arms together and soon enough, we were back at him apartment. Mikey greeted us like always, but instead of disappearing off into his room like he had a tendency to do, he stayed in the kitchen and offered me a steaming fresh cup of black coffee, exactly how I like it. I was a little hesitant, just because Mikey was still new to me and he kind of intimidated me a little bit. But then again, everybody intimidates me when I first meet them.

I accepted the beverage with a quiet thank you, and he smiled at me. Something he doesn't seem to do often. He has definitely mastered the art of keeping a poker face on all the damn time. A few moments later, Gerard told us that he left some important assignments back at the Academy that he promised would be graded and returned to his students by Monday this week. I chastised him playfully despite how anxious I still felt.

"Do I have to spank you again you lil' shit?"

He laughed, but then he was suddenly right next to me behind the kitchen counter and his lips were practically right on top of my ear, causing me to shiver in delight. Although, the fact that Mikey was still in the room made my face burn bright red as it has done several times in the presence of Gerard Way.

"We both know you're not the one doing the spanking around here." he whispered sensually. My breath hitched at the thoughts we was planting in my head, and I nearly spat out my coffee. That bastard just had to go and say something like that, now of all times. Oh the things this man did to me. I never knew I would enjoy being with a man almost as much as I did being with a woman.

Mikey's hand suddenly came down on the back of Gerard's head and he scolded him like an irritated single mother.

"Leave the poor girl alone!" he then wrapped both his arms around me, shielding me from his older brother. I yelped at this sudden action and Gerard rolled his eyes. If I had a dollar for every time he did that when Mikey was around, I would be doing lines on a yacht.

"She loves it!" Gerard exclaimed while grabbing for his bag and heading out toward the front door. My burning cheeks seemed to grow hotter, and I was shocked my head hadn't exploded, creating a fiery nuclear holocaust.

He swung the door open, stepping outside and was about to make his departure when his head poked back in. This time, sporting more of a grievous look. I guess joking time was over, now.

"Mikey,"he called. "Please keep her safe while I'm gone."

I hadn't realized the slightly younger man's arms were still tightly wrapped around me when he returned Gerard's hard gaze.

"I promise, nothing bad will happen to her. You have my word." he swore. Gerard's lips upturned into a small simper and gave a nod to him. He was a little reluctant in doing so, but the door eventually shut and he was off to go retrieve and probably grade the assignments while he was there. He never liked to bring his work home with him, that's something I learned very quickly. Mainly because he got distracted too easily, and would end up procrastinating on said work until the very last possible second. In short, Gerard was basically a high school students trapped in a teacher's body. That's another aspect about him that made me so gravitated toward him. He made it very easy for people, me especially, to relate to him in more ways than one. I didn't feel like he was extremely superior to me in the sense that he was an adult and I was nothing but a sixteen year old girl who didn't know a thing about life. Because in all honesty, neither of us knew a thing about like. And that's why I liked him so much.

Mikey and I were still standing in the center of the kitchen, his grip on me never faltering even long after Gerard made his exit. Things were silent while I felt his arms grow less tense and his long-ish light brunet hair brushed against my cheek. I had to admit, it kind of felt nice. His hug reminded me a lot of Gerard, since they were both pretty similar. But even though I didn't dislike what he was going, I didn't hug him back, mainly due to my crippling shyness. I mentally cursed at myself. I wished that I was able to make eye contact with new people without growing terrified and I wished that I didn't clam up every time I had to order coffee for myself. I felt quite pathetic, and sometimes, I don't know why Gerard even took an interest in me at all.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" he suddenly spoke up. I snapped out of my mental trance and stared up at him with wide eyes.

"N-No, not at all."

"Okay." he said, then continued to latch onto me like paste. The bottom of his chin was resting on top of my head and I swore I could have heard him comment under his breath something about how soft I was. I awkwardly reached my hand up to pet his arm gently, which I think only made things worse. For me, only. Mikey didn't seem to care, he didn't seem to be aware of the tension in the room so thick you could cut into it with a butter knife.

Soon, Mikey's arms unraveled themselves from around my body, leaving me empty and he poured a spoonful of pure white sugar into his coffee.

"You want some?" he offered.

"N-No thanks."

"You sure?"

I nodded. He did the same and sipped from his mug while leaning his body against the kitchen counter. I took this moment to look him over and nearly burst out into laughter at his Hatsune Miku pajama pants. Gerard really wasn't kidding around with me when he said that Mikey had an obsession with all things anime or manga related.

"So...how did you and my brother meet?" he cocked his head to the side, curious. I was about to answer when he took his hand and patted the spot on the counter next to him while climbing on top of it himself. He sat down cross legged, then patiently waited for me to do the same. I obeyed his request, and situated myself right next to him with my legs crossed over one another. I found it a pretty odd that he chose to get comfortable here, of all places, but I guess I couldn't say much. I have been known to fall asleep in strange places. Like underneath my desk, for example, or in my closet.

"Oh, I-I was waiting o-outside the classroom for the b-bell to ring, since I don't really h-have anything else to do before school."

Mikey nodded his head, and waited for me to continue.

"I-I guess we just clicked from there. He-He took an interest in me and I thought his personality o-overall to be pretty ch-charismatic."

"Was he reading that dumb comic book before class started?" he laughed, and I joined in on the laughter.

"He was." I said. "J-Jennifer Blood, to be exact. H-He's been reading that same series since the start of the school year."

"That sounds like him!" he laughed even harder. Mikey then went on to tell me an anecdote from when he and Gerard were kids and he used to have stacks upon stacks of old comic books hidden underneath his bed, and would pretend to read Playboy magazines instead. I got a pretty good kick out of this, and found myself getting a bit more comfortable with him than I was before. My constant stuttering became less frequent, even. Pretty soon, it was like we had been friends for years. Gerard was right, we did get along great and we bonded over our love for anime and manga.

"So, Winter."

"Hm?"

"Tell me about yourself."

"Well, what do you want to know?" I sipped my coffee, which was slowly depleting. While he answered my question, Mikey reached over to grab the coffee pot and refilled both of our mugs. I thanked him quietly.

God, we're all such fucking coffee junkies.

"Where do you come from? When did you move all the way out to The States?"

I briefly considered the idea of telling him about how my mom may or may not have had a child before me that apparently died, or was abandoned, and that before I came into this world, she was living a whole different life than the one she was leading now. But I figured, that would be too soon since we're just starting to get to know each other. So I decided to just stick to the basics, and left out the parts where Okaasan up and left my father, my uncle and the rest of our family for Nagasaki, then years later, The United States of America.

"I was born and raised in N-Nagasaki, but when I turned twelve-" I paused for a brief moment. "She got offered a job down here to write for The New York Times, she we packed our bags and came here."

"How do you like it here? Is it different from Japan?"

"Y-Yeah, one big thing I noticed is people are a little more open to meeting other new people." I started. It was true, back in Nagasaki, everyone for the most part just kept to themselves and it sometimes got a little lonely. But I suppose it's not much different for me here either, because I was still lonely, even though the citizens were much more social and interactive. I am the definition of a wallflower. "I love it here, though. I-It took me a while to get used to, and to learn the language. But I think New York will always have a special place in my heart."

It was true. This place has become home for me over the past four, almost five years that I've been living here.

"Gerard tells me you two are from New Jersey?"

"We are, although we don't have many interesting things to say about that place. It's kind of boring if you ask me, I'm glad we moved out of there." he drank from his mug. I wondered in my head, if that was the real reason they moved away from there. When I asked Gerard the same question about three months back, he gave me the same answer. There was nothing interesting to say about that place. Once again, I found myself not quite believing that because I've come to learn that this entire country was unique and interesting in so many different ways. But as I've said before, I'm not one to pry. If they don't want to talk about their time in New Jersey, then I wasn't going to force them to.

"New York City is a pretty crazy place to live." I commented.

"I couldn't agree more." he responded. "The first day Gee and I came here, he was so excited to ride a subway for the first time that he pulled a Dan Howell and got hit head stuck in between the doors."

"What the fuck!?" For the second time tonight, I had to physically restrain myself from spitting my coffee all over the place. "How the f-fuck does one get their head-you know what-never mind. I don't think I wanna know."

"All I have to say about that, is your boyfriend is a fucking dumbass."

"Hey, he's your brother!" I shot back.

"But I'm not the one sleeping with him."

"Ew! Gross!" I cringed while laughing at the same time. His face contained a pretty bright smile as well, and he threw his head back in boisterous laughter. I had to admit, this was really nice. I didn't think that Mikey liked me at first. Gerard did warn me beforehand that he was pretty shy and reserved around newcomers, but he was a nice guy to be around. I guess I just wasn't prepared for that level of timidness. It was almost as bad as me. Almost. Our childlike giggling went on for another few minutes before we managed to catch our breaths and calm ourselves down. He panted and placed his large hand upon my bony shoulder.

"I'm really glad you like it here in New York."

"Like I said, this place is crazy. But it brings me peace." I don't think I realized it before, at least not until Mikey and I had this conversation. But ironically enough, this place's liveliness and insanity overall put my mind at ease. Sometimes, when I'm feeling particularly restless, I'll just go out and walk around with no specific destination in mind. I would just go outside into the cold air with nothing but my mp3 player and a pair of headphones. I'm not sure why, but something about observing all of the flashing lights and people bustling around while Cage The Elephant played into your ears was like meditating. It silenced all of my negative thoughts for a temporary amount of time. It almost acted as a lullaby for my racing mind. For just a few moments, my demons were rendered silent, and I could hear my own thoughts once again. The irony was certainly there, and it was beautiful. New York City was beautiful.

"I love this place, too." he agreed.

The conversation died down after we both agreed that New York City was our favorite place. Things were silent between us once more, but it wasn't an awkward, uncomfortable silence. It was pleasant, and I could have spent the rest of the night sitting there on the counter right next to Mikey. I closed my eyes and hummed in content, swaying my body from side to side. This was nice. I don't think I've felt this serene in a very long time. I felt like I could have fallen asleep in the position I was in. My eyes fluttered open again, though, when I felt a warm hand pressing against my shoulder. I looked back at Mikey only to be met with his soft eyes and a small grin on his lips.

"Hey, Winter..." he trailed off a bit. I waited patiently for him to finish his thought.

"What is it?" I asked in a small voice. His head leaned in closer to me, and no. I know what you're thinking, he was not going to kiss me. That would be wrong on so many levels. He only did it put a further emphasis on his next words.

"I know it hasn't been that long since you and my brother started seeing each other. But I just want you to know, he really, really cares for you. I meant it when I said he always talks about you."

"M-Mikey-"

"I'm serious. Never in my life have I seen Gerard be so adamant about protecting someone. Winter..." he put his other hand on my other shoulder. "He loves you."

I felt tears start to prick at my eyes and I tried so hard to keep them at bay. I never liked crying in front of anyone, let alone someone I didn't know very well. I know we were no longer at the stage where all we did was stay out of each others way and maybe say hello to one another when Gerard brought me over here. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit, but my point was, I think I could consider him a friend at this point. But even so, I still didn't want to make such a fool of myself in front of him. I've already cried in front of Gerard once, and that was one too many times.

I had hoped that Mikey would fail to notice my urge to cry, but much to my dismay, he did. He instantly pulled me into another tight embrace and this time, I hugged him back. Granted, I was a little nervous in doing so but I did nevertheless. My arms wrapped around his neck and his hands rested firmly along my upper back.

We spent the next hour or so watching _My Neighbor Totoro_ and eating obscene amounts of cookies and cream flavored Pocky. We eventually fell asleep on the couch, well, Mikey fell asleep. My insomnia was acting up pretty badly tonight, so I was left to sit by myself in the dark of the living area. My eyes glanced all around the room, trying to find something to occupy my mind until I would finally feel the cold, clammy hands of sleep grasp onto me and pull me down into its abyss. But they never came. With a huff, I slumped down further into the couch and decided to take out my phone. It was an old, outdated black AT&T flip phone that Okaasan has offered on more than once occasion to replace with a newer, better iPhone or Samsung Galaxy. But I like my old shitty phone. 

I flipped it open, the light shining onto my face and nearly blinding me. There was a single text from my mother, saying that she wouldn't be there in the morning when I woke up. I guess she had to stay at the paper for longer than expected. I sighed. I knew I wouldn't be there in the morning, either. But even so, I still felt the sensation of severe disappointment grasping onto my heart and tugging to the point where it hurt.

I slammed the phone shut and tossed it back onto the coffee table still filled with empty Pocky boxes. The time was around ten at night by now, and I knew Gerard probably wouldn't be back for another hour so, and I still felt restless. Mikey was still slumbering, letting out little snores here and there and a small stream of drool trailing from his mouth. I made sure he was covered in a warm blanket before I pulled on my boots and stepped outside into the icy cold air.


	15. Teenagers

**Gerard's POV**

I never realized until now just how eerie the Academy is when no one is around and I'm here all by myself. When all the lights are off and the desks in every classroom completely empty, I found myself growing quite unsettled and a little paranoid. When I was sitting at my work space, grading the assignments before I would return home to my lovely girlfriend and dorky little brother, I had to physically restrain myself from getting up ever five minutes to check the halls in order to ensure that I wasn't being stalked. Maybe it was just my anxiety from encountering Scapegrace a few weeks prior to tonight. Whatever it was, I didn't like it.

I finally reached the last assignment to grade and quickly knocked that out of the park. I placed every single one of the papers in a single stack in a beige folder before putting them in my satchel. I stood from my place at my desk, readjusted the collar of my shirt, and started to walk out of the door. I stopped myself just as my hand touched the wintry doorknob and I froze on the spot. I wasn't sure what it was that caused me to do this, but as soon as I did, a pinching feeling of terror crawled into my system and gripped my heart in its clammy hands.

I could feel my stomach churn for reasons I didn't understand and the hair on the back of my desk stand on end. I did my best to shrug this feeling away and just go home, but that task proved to be very difficult. Still, I turned the doorknob after standing there for a solid five minutes and slammed it behind me, making sure it was locked and secure. With a hefty sigh, I gripped onto the strap of my satchel and started making my way down the halls. The only sound that could be heard through the building were my heavy footsteps and even that sound alone caused for me to grow anxious. What was with me tonight? It's not like I haven't been to the academy alone before. I have, many times in fact. But never in the past nine years that I've been teaching have I ever felt such heaviness in the air. I never felt like someone was watching me the entire time, and I never felt like I was in any danger.

Once again, I might just be wigging out because of the whole Scapegrace encounter. Maybe this was just all because of my confusion towards her behavior. But then again, who wouldn't be confused about it? I expected for her to attack me and maybe even go after Winter. But instead, she defied said expectations and just walked away after staring me down for an eternity. What did that mean? Why did she just leave like that? Did she simply decide that I wasn't worth her time? Did she decide that she would take care of me later? Maybe that was why I felt so paranoid tonight, maybe Scapegrace was here right now and planning on killing me while I was alone and vulnerable. Maybe that was the cause for all of this trepidation.

No. That wasn't it. My mind was racing at the moment and I slapped myself to snap out of it. I highly doubt Scapegrace was here to execute me tonight. Besides, I was far from being human. If it came down to it, I could fight and fend for myself. I've done it before, and I know for certain that I could do it again.

My racing thoughts slowed down ever so slightly and I breathed out in relief. I would be fine. I made it to the end of the hall where the staircase was where I would make my descent down to the end of the lego building. I gripped onto the railing and started taking careful steps down, making sure I knew where I was placing my feet. These stairs are pretty steep and there have been instances where students were sent to the nurse because they weren't careful in climbing them.

Just as I was about to take a third step down, I felt a cumbersome force from behind that was enough to send me flying forward. My heart leaped at this and I screamed aloud.

"GAH!!" I shrieked. At the moment, I couldn't care less that I probably sounded like a sea lion on drugs. Something had sent me falling down the stairs and I rolled down the steps, banging my head several times and finally landing on my back n the ground. My chest heaved and I groaned in pain. This was agonizing as all hell, but I'll live. As I've said before, I am far from being human.

Instead of remaining sprawled out on the ground where whatever just attacked me could easily grab me again, I rolled over and hopped to my feet. My body ached from the fall, but it wasn't unbearable. I spun forward to see what it was that shoved me, and I expected for it to be someone like Scapegrace. Maybe I was right about her coming for me after all...

But it wasn't Scapegrace.

I squinted my eyes in suspicion, was I seeing things? Was I hallucinating? Or was there really what looked to be an ordinary Hastings Academy student standing at the top of the staircase where I was just standing less than five seconds ago? He looked of average height, he wore a pair of dark jeans and a leather jacket. His oceanic blue eyes were practically glowing in the darkness, and even though they didn't look too unnatural, they still caused for goosebumps to raise on my arms. The boy's lips had a trace of a smirk on them and it made me want to drop kick him right in the throat.

I recognized him, though. I remember seeing him in at least two of my classes over the past four years. He was a senior, I knew that much. And I think I knew his name. He had a twin brother, and I'm pretty sure I've met their father once or twice before but my brain felt quite foggy at the moment. I knew his name was either Damian, or Demetri Bratland. I could never tell them apart, they looked exactly the same, even down to the way they parted their hair. The only different between the two were their eye color, but I couldn't remember which one of them had blue eyes or which one had green. It didn't really matter though, did it?

"What the fuck is wrong with you, kid!?" I shouted. I winced slightly because of my now aching back. The Bratland twin started slowly walking down the steps, staring at me intently, giving me a look that I couldn't read. It was almost a mixture of vexation and indifference, though I couldn't be sure. I dusted off all the dirt from the grimy stairs off my vest and glared at him. "What gives!"

He was about halfway down the first staircase when he stopped and continued staring at me. I was less creeped out and more pissed off that he wasn't giving me an answer. But he did eventually, though it still wasn't satisfactory.

"Mr. Way," he said in a smooth voice. It was creepily calm and I backed away slightly. I so did not want to fight this kid.

"Yeah that's my name kid, don't fucking wear it out." I growled through clenched teeth. He shook his head and tsk'd at me like I was a rogue child or something. I didn't know anything about this kid other than the fact that he had a twin brother and his last name was Bratland, but so far, I hated the way he looked at me as if I were inferior than him. I was a fucking demon for Christ Sake. This little bag of shit didn't have anything on me.

"I know what you are." he deadpanned. I was about to say something snarky, but then what he said fully registered in my mind and I stopped. The blood drained from my face and I could feel my heart sink to my knees. He couldn't mean what I was thinking, could he? There was no way he could know such a thing. It was impossible. He had to be referring to something else.

"The fuck are you talking about, kid? Go home!" I spat. He descended the last few steps and stood right in front of me. He was a few inches taller, and I had to tilt my head up just a bit to look at his face. His jaw was clenched hard, and his eyes radiated malevolence.

"Quit yelling. You're hurting my ears." he said with all the calmness and zen in the world. For some reason, him telling me to quiet down only made my anger meter increase and I lost my self control for a brief second. My hands came forward and I pushed him away from me. It didn't have much of an effect on him, he stumbled back a bit, but didn't lose his footing. I didn't get a chance to apologize or throw another childish attack at him before he suddenly flew forward and charged at me. I was knocked down the second flight of stairs and we both went rolling down. I shouted in pain once more and landed with him on top of me, hands going to wrap themselves around my neck. I didn't give him a chance to do anything more. I snatched onto his wrist and chomped right into it. Blood immediately seeped in through my teeth and he hissed but didn't cry out. I managed to throw him off of my and I loomed over him as he was the one on his back this time.

I stomped down on his throat to hold him down and spoke to him in a low, hopefully intimidating voice.

"You don't have any idea what you're messing with. Go home!"

As soon as the words left my mouth, the Bratland twin reached inside his jacket and pulled out what looked to be a regular black handgun. He pointed the barrel right at my face and I leaned back before he could pull the trigger. Where the fuck did someone his age get a pistol!?

The bullet came shooting out but instead of hitting my face, it embedded itself into the ceiling. My ears rang slightly from the loud boom and I did the first thing that came to mind. I raised my foot and kicked the weapon out of his hand. I then took to kicking at his face but before I could do such a thing, he could my foot and with the strength of someone who clearly wasn't human, threw me to the side and I nearly went tumbling down the last set of stairs. Luckily, I regained my balance at the last moment and landed swiftly on my feet. In no time, he was halfway down the last staircase with his gun back in his hand. He shot at me again, the bullet whizzed through my hair. I gasped and dove around the corner of the building to avoid future shots. I could hear him coming closer and closer, his heavy boots echoing in the night. I quickly get my phone out of my pocket and went to Mikey's contact. I would call the police, but if this kid was what I thought he was, then the police wouldn't be able to do jack shit.

Just as I was about to press the call button, another shot ensued and this time, the bullet grazed my shoulder. It wasn't enough to be a major wound and it was nowhere near life threatening, especially to someone like me. But it still hurt and I couldn't think of what else to do other than run away. The kid had a gun for crying out loud!

I dashed around the next corner, almost making a full circle around the lego building and ran towards the unit buildings a few meters away. As I ran, I tried calling for my brother again but then I remembered something dire.

He was with Winter right now, and I would now allow for him to leave her alone. That meant that I was on my own for this fight. I growled under my breath and placed my phone back into my pocket. Looks like I was stuck fighting this psycho kid without any aid whatsoever.

Whatever.

I crashed in through the doors to the unit three building and ran in a zig zag formation to the end of said building in order to avoid being hit by his bullets. They came dangerously close to hitting me numerous times, and my shoulder still stung and bled. I threw off my trench coat to make things easier for me and slammed through the doors at the end of the building and I was back outside again.

I made a sharp turn to the left and heard him come barreling through the doors as well. He continued to chase me through at least two more unit buildings while shooting his gun at me. Again, I narrowly avoided getting hit by them but I came dangerously close to getting severely hurt more than once. Eventually, he had out of bullets once he had me cornered in a dead end outside. Lucky me.

He retrieved a full clip of ammunition and started to quickly reload, but he didn't get a chance to. I charged toward him, knocking the firearm away and landed a good three punches straight across his nose. I finished things off with a headbutt, and he went stumbling back. I snatched the collar of his shirt similar to how I did with Ronnie and Aaron and pulled him closer to my face.

"Go. HOME!" I shouted in his face. He responded by spitting in my eye. "AH!" I screamed and ended up releasing him from my grip. He kicked at my stomach and elbowed the side of my head, which was already bleeding from when I did a barrel roll down the stairs. As I was wiping the spittle from my eyeball, he took advantage, grabbed onto my head and chucked me right into the side of another unit building. My entire backside felt like it was on fire because of this, but I toughed through it and hopped back onto my feet just in time to see the Bratland twin successfully insulting the full clip into the gun. He then pointed it right at me again. I charged forward, dodging each one of the bullets in an Albert Wesker-esque fashion and landed an uppercut to the bottom of his jaw. I almost heard it crack and I grinned in satisfaction. I went to knock the gun away again, when he, without warning, pistol whipped me right across the face. This was the first time I had ever been pistol whipped, and let me tell you, it felt like the side of my face was one tap away from caving in on itself.

Not even a split second after his gun practically blew a hold in my face, he used his other hand to smack he as well and then he grabbed onto my collar just as I did with him. He was about to point the barrel right into my face again, but I retaliated by grabbing him by the waist and propelling him over my head. Instead of landing harshly on his stomach as I expected, he brought his knees up towards his chest and somersaulted back up to a standing position. Man, this kid was better than I thought. He spun around quickly to attack, but I caught his arm just as he was about to throw a punch and raised his gun to shoot my knee, but I used my other arm and snatched it quickly. The tables were now turned, and I was about to shoot him instead.

Much to my dismay, he smacked it away before I had a chance to use it against him but that didn't stop me from spinning his body around where his back was pressed against my front. I slammed my foot into the back of his calf, making him crumble to his knees. I then knees his lower back while keeping a firm grip on his arm, which was twisted very awkwardly behind his back while my other hand gripped the back of his hair. I tugged harshly and whispered into his ear.

"You may be just like me, you little shit-snot, but if you ever challenge me to a fight such as this," I kneed his back again in between sentences. "I will win!"

"Like hell you will, old man!" the kid then managed to wrench his arm free from my grip, twist his body around and punch me right in the spot under my sternum. His fist came crashing right into my solar plexus, knocking the wind out of me caused for me to slump forward, clutching the spot he had gotten me in.

"Y-You fuckin-AH!" I wheezed terribly. How in the fuck did he know to hit me in a place like that!? This kid must have taken some martial arts classes in the past or something, because the only thing kids his age knew how to do was throw a punch to the nose and pull someones hair!

The Bratland twin reached down and grabbed his pistol again. He cocked it real quick, and pointed it right at me while I was laying on my side with my arms wrapped around myself. I stared back up at him with hard eyes. If he was gonna kill me right here, there was no way in hell I would let him know I was afraid, I would not beg for my life. I would not die a coward.

"Good fucking bye!" he shouted down at me before going to pull the trigger. I heard the gunshot, but the bullet never hit me. It didn't even come close to doing so. Someone had came dashing in and tackled him from the side, knocking his aim askew. The bullet collided with a metal trashcan instead. Puzzled, I looked up to see a dark figure had sent the Bratland twin stumbling back and wielded a gun of their own. It was bigger than his, and was a shining silver. It looked almost like a duplicate of Alucard's Beretta from Hellsing. Needless to say it looked quite heavy. My eyes trailed up the figure's slim body, examining the way they stood with their back straight. One hard hanging at her side and the other aiming straight for the Bratland twin's head. She was clad in her black hoodie, black leather pants, and eight in tall platform boots. The only speck of color besides the black were her respirator mask, and crimson red eyes. As always, they were the only part of her body that anyone could see, and she stood there with all the grace and elegance in the world. Like she was the most skilled fighter since Bruce Lee. Although, how she was able to maneuver so quickly and efficiently with those huge boots, I didn't understand. But that was the last thing on my mind when I stared up and realized who had saved me from dying in such an undignified and humiliating fashion.

It was Scapegrace.

I gaped in awe at the vigilante I had been so weary of as she pulled the trigger, hitting the Bratland twin in the chest. Unfortunately, it didn't have much of a detrimental effect on him since it was clear he wasn't a human like everyone else. After she pulled the trigger the first time, she continued to do it numerous times, and every time, the Bratland twin barely managed to avoid getting hit, much like I was struggling to do.

Every time Scapegrace took another shot, she took another step forward until she was close enough to ram the handle of her Beretta into the crook of the kid's neck. He shrieked and clutched the spot she hit, giving her the perfect opportunity to knee his gut. Which she did. He groaned, then doubled over. She kneed his face this time, making him stumble backwards, on the verge of falling over. Scapegrace then shot him point blank in the bottom of the chin. Blood came spurting out instantly and he screamed. While this was going down, I managed to pull myself up to a standing position, though I struggled to make it to my feet. My solar plexus was still throbbing like crazy, and the pain was almost blinding. But it couldn't blind me from seeing Scapegrace ram her fist into the same spot she shot. This time, he did fall backwards. Scapegrace aimed the Beretta down at his face, but the second she went to pull the trigger, he rolled over and jumped back to his feet. He stumbled like a drunk and blindly swung his fist at her. She dodged them all with little effort and went to shoot him in the forehead when he managed to punch it away. She didn't falter in her attempts to attack when she was left without a firearm, like him.

In a mater of seconds, she reached into her jacket and pulled out a butterfly knife-switchblade-thing...I didn't know what it was exactly, but she swung it to and fro, eventually cutting the Bratland twins cheek and other spots on his face a few times.

He tried smacking it away just like the gun, but she had a firm grip on it, and the only thing he accomplished in doing was slicing up his palm.

"FUCK!!" he screamed. Scapegrace let out a low sound from underneath her mask that almost sounded like a chuckle, but I couldn't be sure.

The Bratland twin recovered quickly and charged at her like a bull. His body was hunched over, his hands lifting her by the waist and throwing her a good few meters away. It looked like she would end up getting a broken bone, but she was like a cat in that no matter how awkward the fall looked, she still landed on her feet. The Bratland twin picked up her Beretta and started shooting bullet after bullet at her but she twirled, jumped, and spun in ways that was confusing just to look at. And from the looks of it, it confused the twin as well. He soon ran out of bullets and she threw the butterfly knife-thing at him. It dug deep into his shoulder and once again, he let out an ear piercing bellow and struggled to pull it our of himself. While he tried to rip it away and maybe use it as a weapon, Scapegrace cracked her neck and stomped forward. I wasn't sure what she was going to do next, and I wasn't sure I wanted to. But I couldn't look away.

She came up to the Bratland twin and ripped the knife out herself and slashed it across his neck. He gargled and spat out blood from his mouth. But that also didn't stop him from jabbing her point blank in the throat with a closed fist. She choked and staggered back. For a moment, I thought she would rip her mask away and we would get to see what she looked like underneath her little disguise. But she didn't come close to doing so. Instead, she endured the agony and went to kick the twin. He beat her to the punch, swinging his fist at her eye and making her spin around. He then smashed his elbow into the back of her head and kicked her thigh. She came close to falling over, for her leg caved in. In order to make sure she did fall over, however, the twin raised his elbow once more and bashed it over the top of her head.

Scapegrace finally fell to her knees and dropped forward onto her front. The twin stared down at her and panted heavily, clutching the wound across his neck. I finally caught my breath and climbed up to my feet. My solar plexus was still aching and throbbing and I couldn't fully straighten my torso out. I took a few tentative steps forward, my eyes glued to Scapegrace's body. I couldn't tell if she was dead or not, she wasn't moving a muscle. I couldn't even see her breath.

"Is she...Is she dead?" I croaked. The twin was too preoccupied with staring down at her possibly dead body that he probably didn't even hear me ask the question. Instead, he crept forward carefully, like she was a wild animal or something. I was too afraid to check myself for fear that she would pop back up and attack me instead. Although, she did save my life a few moments ago.

She saved my life...

Why would she do that?

It wasn't that I was complaining about it, no not by a long shot. In fact, I was really grateful for what she did. I just didn't understand why she would do something like that. Every single witness to her crimes had said that she had absolutely no mercy whatsoever. She was a killer. She ripped someone's head off with nothing but her gloved hands. She was capable of reducing a grown man to a mess of tears within just a few minutes. She was a monster. But she saved my life. Why me, though? Did she think I was different from everyone else somehow? She have an interest in me? Or was she only saving my life so she could be the one two end it as soon as she took care of the Bratland twin.

My chest clenched at the thought, for at this moment, I was almost glad she was dead. Or at least, I thought she was dead, she looked pretty dead to me.

"Ha..." the twin drawled while raising his middle finger up at her. "Finally...you're fucking dead!" he burst out into boisterous laughter while throwing his head back; eyes shutting tightly as he laughed. "After a year of chasing after you like a fucking dog! You're dead!"

His hysterical, childlike yet sinister cackling went on for a long time making my ears hurt. It died down eventually, and the twin turned around to face me once more. He started stalking his way over to where I was, and I stood up straight once more, ready to fight. Although I had an awful feeling I wouldn't win this round either, I would not go down without taking him down with me or at the very least, doing some major fucking damage. I raised my clenched fists, ready to defend myself.

"You're so fucking pathetic, you old man."

I opened my mouth to retort back at him, when I spotted movement from behind him. Scapegrace's arms moved and she ever so slowly lifted herself off the ground. I guess she wasn't dead after all. Although blood was dripping from her forehead and onto her face, she was still very much alive and I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about that. Her still being live possibly meant that I wouldn't be for much longer.

At least she would kill this dumb son of a whore, and maybe I would get the pleasure of witnessing it before I died as well.

Soon, Scape was back on her feet, her eyes locked on the back of the Bratland twin's head. As he sluggishly came waltzing forward, ready to kill me, Scapegrace meanwhile grasped onto her Beretta from on the ground, cocked it, and pointed it at his head. The twin froze when he was a few feet away from me, eyes going wide and the color slowly disappearing from his face. It seems he realizes that Scapegrace was far from being dead. He knew he was fucked.

"No..." he whispered under his breath. I snickered.

"Haven't you learned from any of the movies that they're never dead the first time?"

The twin turned his body around to see the vigilante/criminal ready to shoot and deliver the finishing blow. I could practically see him tense up at just the thought of it. That little shit-cunt would get what he deserved.

Just as Scapegrace pulled the trigger, for a brief moment, time stood still. The bullet stuck in mid air, the twin already halfway off the ground. In that eternally lasting split second, I realized that I was standing right in front of this kid. Meaning, if he successfully dodged the bullet...then it would hit me instead.

The twin hopped a good ten feet off the ground and at the same time, I bent myself backwards, the bullet flying right above my face but never hitting me. I felt like someone from the matrix from the stunt that I just pulled, but let me tell you, I felt like my spine was broken in half from that move. That's one thing that the action movies don't tell you. Those cool maneuvers and ways of dodging your enemies that you see in so many cheap flicks were nothing short of laborious. Thank god I wasn't a human or else my spine might actually be broken.

Time returned to normal. I was left heaving on the ground with my legs bent weirdly underneath me. The twin was back on the ground as well, on his feet. I could tell that Scapegrace was about to shoot at him again, but he leaped away and within a few moments, he was out of our line of sight. I gazed in astonishment at how quickly he was able to get away, leaving no evidence that he was here in the first place.

That was a lie. He did leave plenty of evidence that he was here. At least two and a half feet of the concrete was stained in his vital fluid, and his black handgun was still laying around here, somewhere. I don't know why I said he left no evidence, because he did.

I sighed and started getting back to my feet, trying to ignore the throbbing in my back.

Once I regained my footing, I saw that Scapegrace was still standing there but this time, her gaze was fixated on me. Her eyes weren't narrowed in a hateful glower like they were before. It was hard to read her expression, mainly because the majority of her face was covered in black paint, like she was shot up with a paint gun. That, and her mask easily went up over her nose. I couldn't tell if she was smiling or if her lips were pressed into a thin grim line. For all I know, she might not have a mouth at all. I almost chuckled at that thought, but for some reason, I was nervous to move at all.

Scape raised her hand that didn't hold the gun. Her thumb and index finger were pressed softly together, forming an 'o' shape while her other three fingers stood straight. She was forming the 'ok' symbol with her hand. I cocked my head to the side. What was she trying to say?

She then pointed at, her gaze on me never faltering. It still took my a moment to fully understand what she was trying to tell me. But then it clicked.

She was asking me a question.

"Am I...Am I okay?"

She nodded. I nodded back at her, and she lowered her hand. She seemed satisfied with my answer.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She didn't respond to me, she only placed her gun back into the inside pocket of her jacket pocket as well as her butterfly knife. I still don't know if that's what it's called. She turned her back to me, already beginning to walk away. I dashed forward a few steps and reached my arm desperately. For what? I don't fucking know.

"Wait!" I called out. She stopped in her tracks, waiting for me to say something else. I breathed heavily while my hands were on my knees. I wanted to ask who she was, but I doubt she would answer that kind of question. Everyone knew she keen on keeping her identity a secret. So instead, I asked, "Why did you save me?"

Silence. She never answered that question either. She simply started walking away from me, and I was left in a state of dubiety while I could very faintly see red and blue sirens coming towards us in the distance.

Man, if teenagers didn't scare the shit out of me then, they sure as hell do now.


	16. Stay Away From My Friends

**Gerard's POV**

I made sure to get the hell off campus when I saw the police lights in the distance. With Scapegrace gone and my body still feeling like it's on the verge of collapsing on itself, I still managed to make it back to my apartment within the hour. After checking my watch, I came to find that it was around midnight, nearing one in the morning. That meant that Mikey and Winter were possibly sleeping at the moment. I felt bad for having to wake them up this late at night, but this was just too important to wait until tomorrow. What happened tonight were unorthodox to say the least, and my views on Scapegrace's motives were beginning to shift. For the past year that she has been active in this city, I always thought of her as a psycho cunt who took enjoyment out of executing unsuspecting civilians. But that same psycho cunt saved my life, tonight.

I almost felt weak and pathetic when I thought about how the Bratland twin nearly murdered me. I shouldn't have let him, a student of all people, over power me like that. If a considerably smaller sized woman in platform boots and a respirator mask could take him down, then there wasn't any reason that I couldn't either. But I cast that thought aside when I reached home and turned the front doorknob. My pride didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was telling my girlfriend and my brother the possibility that Scapegrace might not be as depraved as we all once thought. That being said, I was still skeptical on whether or not she was a full on Benign. I mean, the bitch did kill at least two students from the Academy so far. But then again, from what I've seen of the Bratland twin so far, he was not a Benign. He was on the opposite side.

I practically burst in through the door, startling Mikey awake who was sleeping soundly on the couch with a blanket draped over him. Winter was right next to her in her pajamas with her silky red kimono style robe loosely hanging off from her shoulders, giving me a good view of her clavicle bone. She looked like she hadn't fallen asleep yet, and she was busy listening to her mp3 player. She ripped the earbuds out of her ear when she saw me come in with a wild look in my eyes. Mikey sat up immediately and blindly reached out his arm to grab his glasses. Winter beat him to it, grabbing the glasses herself and handing them to him. He thanked her, she nodded.

"Gerard? What's wrong? What took you so long?" he mumbled while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Winter hopped from her spot on the couch and came running up to me. Her hands instantly went to my face and she became panicked when she saw blood dripping from my forehead.

"What the fuck happened!?" she gasped. Mikey was on his feet as well and disappeared off into the kitchen where he grabbed a towelette and started running it under the faucet. While Winter was leading me into the kitchen as well where he would start dabbing and wiping the blood away, I started to speak and gather my thoughts as best as I could. Luckily, I've had some time to think and look back on what happened tonight, so my words weren't completely jumbled.

"Scapegrace-"

"Scapegrace!?" Mikey nearly shrieked. I flinched at how loud he was and I told him to dial it back a notch. Or ten. "Did she attack you this time!?"

I shook my head, and the two grew perplexed to say the least. That was only a fraction of what I was feeling when she diverted the Bratland twin's bullet from killing me on the spot. "No, quite the opposite, actually." It was Winter's turn to shake her head at me.

"What does that mean? Gerard, you're bleeding!"

"I know, let me explain."

While Mikey continued to clean my head wounds, Winter started undoing and pulling off my vest. I was tempted to make some sassy remark about how we shouldn't fornicate in front of my little brother, but I knew that she was just checking for any other wounds on my body.

"It started when I was getting ready to leave for home. One of my students tried to kill me-"

"Wait, hold up, one of your students? Which one!?" Mikey interrupted. I could feel my head begin to throb at the thought of trying to remember which one of the twins it was exactly.

"I-It was either Damian or Demetri Bratland." I wracked my brain for any major differences between the two that I may have stashed in the back of my mind. But the only thing I could remember was that they had different eye colors. But as I've said before, I couldn't remember which one had blue eyes and which one had green.

"Damian or Demetri...those weird twins who look like Andy Biersack and Johnnie Guilbert's love child?" I nodded.

"Yes. I don't know which one it was- they look like the same fucking person. But he came this close to ending my life tonight." I held my thumb and index finger close together for emphasis and Winter's eyes widened like the body of a threatened puffer fish. I felt bad saying this, since I knew she was growing quite worried. But I proceeded in the story anyway. "But Scapegrace intervened just in the nick of time, she saved me!"

"She saved you?" Mikey raised his eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yes."

"That can't be right..."

"She did!" I pressed. Winter's head tilted down toward the ground in deep thought and I caught a glimpse of her sharp nose scrunching up in frustration. If the situation didn't seem as grave as it did in this moment, I would have made a comment about how adorable she looked. Instead, however, I pressed my lips together in a firm line and prepared myself for what I was about to propose. There's a chance that Mikey will simply not believe me, and Winter might just pass out from what she was about to learn tonight. But I felt like this had to be done. If I really wanted to keep my girlfriend safe, then she had to be aware of the full story. I can't keep her in the dark for any longer.

"I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure that Damian/Demetri is a Malign." I started. "Scape saved me from him- he shot at me and she diverted the bullet to somewhere else. She seemed pretty intent on ending him. Unless she has a grudge against him for entirely separate reasons, there's only one explanation for this."

I paused and waited for either of the two people in front of me to speak up. They both looked confused, but for different reasons I'm sure.

"If Damian/Demetri is a Malign, and you say Scape tried to kill him, then that could only mean...."

"She is a Benign, like us." he finished for me. The room grew increasingly silent, not a sound to be heard. The television wasn't even on, and all of our breathing was inaudible as well. My ears started ringing and soon enough, I started to fidget uncomfortably. I despise when things get this quiet, it makes my mind seem louder than it really is, like it was manifesting into a physical entity and screaming into my ear at the op of its lungs. Eventually, Winter took a few steps back, almost colliding into Mikey's chest. He kept her from stumbling and falling backwards.

"Okay, I have no idea what the fuck you guys are talking about." she sounded almost angry with us. I don't think I've ever heard her raise her voice before, not even when she was really agitated. Her voice was always more on the quiet side, very find and wispy. Until just now, I couldn't have ever imagined her yelling, let alone yelling at us in particular. It just wasn't her. But I guess being kept out of the loop was one of the few things that really set her off.

Mikey put his hand on her shoulder and I took a few cautious steps toward her as well. She was right. She hadn't a clue about what we were going on about, and she needed to know.

"I'm sure you've heard the myth's all over the internet, and school as well." I began. Mikey made heedful eye contact with me, as if asking if I really wanted to explain all of this to her. We already started talking about it, though, so I didn't see much of a problem in it. I nodded again, and he nodded back. "There are another species similar to humans that coexist among them. Except much stronger, and capable of more destruction." I deadpanned. Her eyes were stuck in this eternal wide shape, almost sparkling in the little amount of light that this kitchen had to offer. Her lips were neutral and her arms hung straight down her sides. I couldn't read her at this moment, and I really wished I could. It would make things so much easier.

"You don't mean demons..." she trailed off. I slowly nodded at her, making sure she knew I wasn't being sarcastic in the slightest. She sometimes thought I was being sarcastic because of my sassy nature. But that side of me was on lock down for the time being.

"He does." Mikey answered for me. I affirmed his statement when Winter glanced back at him with that same blank face. She then turned back around to face me, and I could see that her hands were beginning to tremble. From fear or from anger, I couldn't tell. As I said, I couldn't decipher what she was thinking at all right now.

"They are separated into two categories." I lifted my hand, holding up two fingers. "There are Benign's. Those are the ones you don't have to worry about. They coexist in peace alongside humans, they blend into society and generally don't cause trouble. Most of the time, they act as humans themselves."

"And...and the other t-type?" she stammered. I took her shaking hands into my much larger ones. I glanced back up at Mikey for a split second, and I saw him looking at Winter with perturbed eyes. As much as I dreaded seeing her petrified face when I was finished telling her, I most certainly couldn't chicken out of this explanation now.

"The other type is called Maligns."

"Maligns..."

"Yes," I assured. "They are the exact opposite of the ones I just described. They are out for blood, they lust for mayhem. They either want to kill all humans or enslave them. They are the one's you really should be afraid of."

Her eyes were wider now, and she gulped. I really didn't mean to make her so afraid, I absolutely hated to see her clam up like that. But how else was I supposed to explain this sort of thing? I don't think there was a way for me to tell her this without freaking her out. Hell, I get freaked out sometimes just thinking about it, and I'm one of them!

A Benign, that is.

"S-So...let me get this...let me get this straight..." she breathed in a shaky breath of air. "One of the twins wh-who is a Malign went after you-" she slowly pointed to me. "b-because you're a h-human...and you're also thinking S-Scapegrace is a Benign, and that's why she saved your life..."

I stopped her right there by raising a finger up to her perfectly sculpted lips. I almost wanted to stick my finger in her mouth, I wanted to lean down and kiss her again, make her moan for me like I've done a couple times by now. Something about how innocent she looked all the damn time, I couldn't keep my hands off of her for the life of me.

"You're on the right track, Sugar." I said in almost a whisper. Her eyelashes fluttered and I could tell her confusion was only growing larger, almost about to overflow over the brim.

"I-I don't get it, then..."

"That's okay." I said. "But you should know, Winter. That kid didn't come after me because I was a human."

"Then I don't understand..."

I sucked in a deep breath. This was it. This was the moment of truth. I risked the possibility of her running away from us and never speaking to me again. But it was a risk I was willing to take. I wouldn't be the one to keep this kind of secret from her, because in all honesty, that would only put her in even more danger.

"Winter. He didn't come after me because I'm a human. He knows what I am. He knows I am a demon like him."

The room went quiet once more. Winter's eyes expanded greatly again, and Mikey kept looking at her from behind, almost like he was making sure she wouldn't scream or something. I half expected for her to scream as well, but instead, her eyes started to roll into the back of her head and her body started to collapse down like the twin towers. Luckily, she fell forward, and I was able to catch her with ease.

"Winter, baby!"

She mumbled a few incoherent things under her breath before she raised her voice slightly.

"I'm goo-I'm so good!" her voice cracked and with my aid, she managed to get her balance back. I still didn't let go of her, though, for fear that she would faint again, and she would end up hurting herself.

"Winter," Mikey put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, much like the first time I spoke to her in the hallway of the lego building. It was almost like she was reverting back to her old self of being scarily sheepish. He saw she she recoiled from his touch, and retracted his hand away from her. "Hey, are you-are you okay?"

"I'm so okay!"

"I understand if you're a little afraid, but baby," I took her chin in my hand gently and leaned down so my breath grazed upon her lips. "You have to know that I wouldn't ever dream of hurting you. I'm not like him, I promise you this." I even crossed my heart, though I knew that wouldn't do much to prove my point. She still looked utterly terrified to even be near me.

"We'll protect you," Mikey walked back around to face her head on and crouched right beside her while I kept staring her in the eyes. This time, she actually did fall into my arms and pass out.


	17. Monsters

**Gerard's POV**

Winter hasn't been at school for the past three days, and because of this, teaching felt empty. My heart would sink down like the titanic every time I averted my gaze towards the back of the room where her desk was, only to see that she wasn't where she was supposed to be. I think even my students were starting to suspect that something was wrong when I wasn't as enthusiastic as I typically was during a class. I nearly started crying at one point, but luckily enough, I managed to keep the tears on lock down. I got a hold of myself, I handed out this week's assignment, and I took a seat at my own desk just listening to the low hum of the students chattering among themselves.

After Mikey and I told her that we were far from being human, she left early the next morning saying that her mother had texted her asking her where she was. I knew it was a lie, an excuse to get out of there and away from us. But I didn't let her know that I caught her lie. If I were in her shoes, I would have made up an excuse to leave as well. She didn't let me drive her home, saying that her mother (she calls her Okaason) wouldn't like it if she came home with a stranger she didn't know. So I let her go home by herself. Sort of.

Just because it's a possibility that Scapegrace isn't as ill intended as we were all thinking before doesn't mean I'm not still worried. Whether she is on our side, or the side of the Maligns didn't matter much because when it came down to it, she was extremely dangerous. Maybe she'll leave Winter alone, seeing as how she's just a human. But then again, she has killed humans before in the past. What's to stop her from going after even more? With this in mind, I made sure that she got home okay by following her. I know that makes me sound like a creepy stalker, but what else was I supposed to do?

I made sure to remain hidden and out of her line of sight, and when she got home, she struggled to climb up and open her bedroom window. I was tempted to come to her rescue once more and help her out, but if I were to do that, then she would obviously know that I followed her. And I can't afford to make this situation any worse. I'm sure her brain is about ready to implode on itself after learning of what I am, what my brother is, and that there are thousands- if not, millions- of others out there who are more than capable of killing off the human race with the flick of a wrist. And in a world where these things exist, I had to make sure that none of them even came close to touching _my_ little snowflake.

It took a few moments, but she eventually yanked the window open and climbed inside. She closed the window shut behind her, and I watched as she stood in the center of her room for a good ten minutes or so before walking back out and coming back with a full bottle of wine. She drank straight from the bottle, and I frowned. I though I told her to be careful with that shit...

Unfortunately, I couldn't stay with her forever. I had to leave for work eventually, I couldn't very well just quit my job as much as I would like to. So I toughed things out like a man, and I came into work with my chin held high. Of course, however, I would shoot up out of my seat as soon as the bell would ring, and I would go to check on Winter since she didn't show up today. Or yesterday. Or the day before. It was now a Wednesday afternoon, my eyes were pasted to my watch for last ten minutes of class just waiting for the clock to strike 2:10. It felt like an eternity before it finally did, and the loud, startling sound of the bell ringing acted as my fuel to get up and sprint out of there at the speed of sound.

Of course I was gifted with a number of odd looks from people who saw me dashing down the street with my satchel flying wildly while I did so. But they didn't matter to me.

Today was a new record for me, as I had made it to her apartment in a matter of just a few moments. I concealed myself within the thick plants and bushes in the back, where her window looking into her bedroom was located. I peered up carefully, seeing Winter bustling around her room. She had one flat ballet shoe one her feet, and her body was adorned in a semi-short black and white little dress with specks of red rose designs put here and there. I subconsciously reached out for her, wanting to touch her as she looked gorgeous in her outfit. I watched as she applied some light red lip gloss to her lips, put on her other shoe and give herself a once over in her vanity mirror. I wanted to go up to her and remind her of just how beautiful she looked. I wanted to go up and tell her that there was no need to criticize herself so harshly like that, because I knew that was what she was doing. But at the same time, watching her get herself all dolled up like this begged the question.

Who was she going to see?

My teeth clenched together in jealousy. She wasn't going on a date with someone else, was she?

Of course she was, why else would she get so dressed up like this. There was no other explanation.

No, there had to be. If I knew anything about that girl with the sweetest tasting lips I've ever seen, it was that she wasn't a cheater. She was too shy to do something like that, anyway. So I wasn't sure why I got so worked up over it. I trusted her completely. Maybe her mom was dragging her out to some event or fundraiser, maybe there was something on her plate that I didn't know about. Whatever it was, I knew she wasn't actively cheating on me.

My confusion sparked slightly when she picked up a bouquet of bright red roses from her nightstand and examined them as if to make sure they were of top quality. I stopped myself from jumping to any conclusions and instead, ducked down low when she opened up her window again and started climbing down very carefully. She dusted off the dust from her dress and picked off a wilted leaf that had fallen into the roses in her arms. I waited until she was far away enough to start following after her trail. She made a right turn out into the busy streets where I had just come from and walked at a steady pace while the roses were encased protectively in her arms. I found myself asking myself why she would need those flowers, but I had a feeling I would find out within the next few minutes.

Sure enough, as she walked, the hectic sidewalks and street corners thinned out and things gradually grew calmer. By this time, there weren't as many concrete walkways anymore, and instead, they were replaced with bright green grassy lands. The multitude of sky high buildings and corporate headquarters could still be viewed from the distance, but they soon became almost transparent looking. The fog and the clouds made their appearance more diluted and the sounds of honking cars and chatting civilians quieted immensely. My mind was starting to calm down just by being in this area. Maybe that's why she was coming here. But that still didn't explain her getting so dressed up and the bouquet of flowers she clutched tightly.

Things became so quiet as she trudged on, that it made it more and more difficult to remain hidden. Especially since there weren't many bushes I could dive into or trees I could climb in the heat of the moment if she were to turn around. It still wasn't impossible though, as I have made abundantly clear, I am not a human.

Things became more clear for me when I spotted the grassy meadows containing the somber gray tombstones of those who have passed away. The atmosphere grew heavier once I realized where Winter was headed. She wasn't going anywhere fancy, she wasn't heading off on a date with someone other than me. She was going to visit her girlfriend. The one who was murdered. She told me her name about a month ago. If I recall correctly, her name was.....

Her name was Naomi.

That's why she wore that dress and did her make up a bit more fancier than usual. She wanted to look pretty for her lover.

Winter's pace slowed down slightly when she reached the graveyards, and soon, she deviated from the path of the sidewalk. Her shoes entered the grass and the sound of her walking along was the only thing that could be heard. The bouquet of roses were being held upright by the center of her chest, eyes half lidded sorrowfully and hands visibly trembling. She soon came to a stop when she reached a relatively secluded tombstone and stared down at it for a moment before bending down, placing the roses gently in front of it. She then steadily came down to sit on her knees, folding her hands in a sophisticated fashion on her lap. Her head was hung low as if in shame, shoulders slumped and shaking ever so slightly. I could very faintly hear the pained little gasps and sobs escaping her mouth from the thick tree in which I hid behind. The overwhelming urge to march over there and cradle in close to my chest came dangerously close to overpowering as I watched her shed tear after tear into her lap. Her upper body slouched forward even more, her arms shooting up to cover her face like she was embarrassed someone would see her. Or maybe she was embarrassed to cry in front of Naomi herself. Whatever it was, it made me shed many tears of my own. Seeing her in this much pain was enough to make me cry alongside with her.

"I-" she stuttered terribly, voice cracking. I leaned forward from my hiding spot a little bit to better hear what she was about to say. It took her a while to gather her self more, but when she did, her voice was much clearer but still pained.

"I'm so sorry..." she apologized. But for what? Naomi's death wasn't on her hands. They were mugged, she was killed, end of story. So why was she saying sorry for something she was not at fault for? It didn't make a lick of sense to me.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." she reiterated as if to answer my pressing question. My mouth opened and my eyes widened. That was why she felt guilty, like she was the one who took that girl's life. She thought it was her fault.

"Y-You...you f-fought for us...you gave your life so that I could live mine...It should have been me, though. I should be the one to be buried in this cemetery. It should have been me, not you." she kept repeating.

_No. Stop saying these things. You don't belong in the ground. You deserve life just as much as anyone else, please don't say these things..._

"I-I've been keeping your promise though."

Her promise...? What was she talking about? Her promise to live free, maybe? Her promise to move on and find happiness in herself?

"It's dangerous, and it's a lot of hard work...but I've been working to make your dream come true, like you told me to."

Winter paused to sniffle and wipe away a tear that was traveling down on her face. There was a miniscule puddle in her lap from her crying, and I was willing to bet her eyes were horribly red and bloodshot. Without thinking about it, I started taking small steps toward her. She was a good ten meters away, and it took my all to not rush over there and wipe away the salty tears for her. But I just couldn't let her know that I was here. What would she think of me then? I couldn't run the risk of her getting even more scared by me than she already was.

"I promise, one day they'll all be gone. They won't hurt anybody else."


	18. Cool For The Summer

**Winter's POV**

_It was the summer of 2013, I was fifteen years old and naive as ever. I was a sophomore at Hastings Academy and I was best friends with possibly the most beautiful, extraordinary woman who was a senior at that time. She had long, wavy dark brown hair that I always loved to run my fingers through, and these bright radiant sky blue eyes that I got lost in every time I peered into them. Her lips were plump and pink, and I often wondered what it would feel like to have them pressed against mine. Her skin, decorated in little freckles all across her arms and her chest. She was never a big fan of them, but I told her all the time that they looked beautiful, just like her. She would always laugh it off and shake her head, and then tell me that I was even more beautiful. I never believed her. I didn't think I was ugly per say, but I would sometimes avoid looking at myself in the mirror for fear that I would stand there and spend the next ten minutes pointing out each and every flaw I noticed. Even if they were microscopic, even if nobody else knew of their existence. I knew they were there, and that was enough to send me into a spiral of crippling self loathing. Of course, when she found out about my insecurities, she spend twice that amount pointing out everything she loved about me._

_For example, I hated the color of my hair. Back then, I had never dyed it before, and it was a deep red auburn. She told me that red was her favorite color on me. This was evident in the way she always bought me shoes and clothes that were of the same color. I also expressed to her that the reason I wore heels a majority of the time, was because I felt like a damn oompa loompa when I didn't. I was barely 4'10'', I was basically a midget. Still am. But she told me she loved that I was short, she said she thought I was the most adorable thing she had ever laid her eyes on. But the biggest thing that I was ashamed of...were my scars._

_Before she came into my life and swept me off my feet, I was drowning in a sea of depression. I couldn't tell if I wanted to die, or if I wanted for everyone else to die. It got so bad, soon, I took to dragging the blade of a switchblade knife across my arms every night before I went to bed. But when she saw me alone and crying in a bathroom stall, she coaxed to come out and she saw the fresh blood dripping from my sleeve. I thought she would look at me like a freak, and then leave again because she didn't want to be associated with someone so fucked in the head that they cut themselves open and let themselves bleed out. But much to my surprise, she did the exact opposite. She gently rolled up the sleeve of my hoodie to see rows upon rows of fresh wounds that I had inflicted myself and never bothered to clean. She cooed at me sweetly, calling me things like baby, sweetie, and sweet girl. Sweet girl was her favorite nickname for me, along with Loli or Lolita._

_That bright eyed goddess cleaned all of my wounds and wrapped them in bandages she had in her backpack. She kissed my forehead, asked me my name, and gently commanded for me to give her the knife I had used. I was intimidated by her, despite her motherly and compassionate nature and the tender way she cared for me. I didn't dare go against her orders, so I pulled the weapon out of my pocket and shakily placed it into her hand._

_"I'll be keeping this," she said before slipping it into a smaller compartment in her bag. She stayed true to her word and made sure I didn't have anything on me that could have been potentially used as a weapon against myself. I didn't argue with her, as much as I wanted to._

_She then told me her name was Naomi. Naomi Dawson. I remember staring up into her eyes in a trance, and after a while, she grinned and commented about how breathtaking I was. I had no words for her._

_The bell had rang, startling me. She laughed, grabbed my hand in hers and escorted me to my next class, which was biology. I didn't say anything, but I'm sure she could tell that I was disappointed to have to leave her then. She came back, though, and held my hand as she walked me all the way to my next class after that. And then, she came back once more to walk home with me. Along the way, she kept her arm arm around my shoulders like an overprotective boyfriend and kept asking me questions about myself. I answered her in vague, short sentences due to my shyness, but she didn't mind. She didn't get annoyed with me as I had expected, and she didn't mention the incident in the bathroom until we were at my apartment; the same one I still live in, today._

_"How do your arms feel?"_

_I stammered out a "They're f-fine," and she left it at that. She gently caressed my wounds through my thick sleeve and gazed at me with curiosity sparkling in her blue orbs. At the time, I didn't understand what she found to be so fascinating about me. I still don't. But whatever she saw in me, it caused for her to keep approaching me whenever I was in her line of sight and chase away the loneliness that ate away at my mind._

_The brown haired beauty leaned down after establishing that my wounds weren't that bad, and pressed a kiss to my forehead. Her lips lingered on the same spot for some time, it seemed she had a hard time pulling away and if I were being quite honest, I didn't want her to. It had been so long since I had had any sort of affection from anyone. Even my mother. The only thing I knew were the ruthless insults thrown at me every single day by those boys. And on some occasions, I would get hit by one of them. I never told anyone, though, and I never plan to._

_Over the next few weeks after that, we started to grow closer and closer. She often invited me to come back to her home after school, since I spent all my time alone anyway. It wasn't like Okaasan missed my presence much, and the only thing I did to pass the time was sit alone and cry. I would lay in bed all day, and all night, never having the energy to move. The sadness weighed me down all the time. It was unbelievably suffocating. So I accepted her offer with caution, and she seemed excited when I did._

_The first time I went to her house, her father was at her work and her mom was busy in the kitchen making some sort of fruit pie. I think it was cherry, my favorite. The smell of it wafted into my nose as I walked past, Naomi's hand encasing mine. Her mom called up to us and asked if we needed anything before she dragged me upstairs. Naomi looked back at me with raised eyebrows, and I shook my head. In truth, I was actually really thirsty, but my social awkwardness kept me from saying anything. She soon led me to her room and shut the door. Everything was neat and organized, many NYU posters and merchandise were hung up on her walls and some mini flags glued to her mirror. I took a wild guess that day and speculated that she wanted to attend a university. That's probably why she attended Hastings Academy, it looked great on a college application. Actually, that was probably the only reason anyone attended such a prestigious school. With the exception of me, of course. The reason Okaasan enrolled me in Hastings Academy was...okay it was for the same reason. She was hoping I would go to an Ivy League school after wards and maybe follow in her footsteps. But I had different plans. I wanted to be a musician, I wanted to be a performer._

_"Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, sweetie." she said while plopping down on the bed herself. I wasn't sure what to do with myself. My arms were crossed in front of me and my satchel still hanging off my shoulder. Naomi chuckled and playfully rolled her eyes before snatching my hand and yanking me down onto her lap. I yelped, not at all expecting for her to do something so bold. Both her hands worked in slipping the satchel off me and down on the ground. She then wrapped her arms around me in a ginger embrace, rocking the both of us back and forth and humming a tune._

_Don't Fear the Reaper._

_"You're too cute," she commented when she noticed my eyelids begin to droop. They snatched open immediately again and I stuttered out an apology. She shook her head with another light chuckle. "Don't be sorry, sweet girl! You look like you need the rest." she then took to tucking my hair behind my ears and seeming to admire me as a whole. I stared back at her with dooey eyes and soon enough, I found myself leaning my head against her shoulder and falling into a deep sleep while she continued humming the words to Don't Fear the Reaper._

_I found that I was able to sleep properly while cradled in her lap. She rested against the wall with her hand gripping nimbly at the back of my head. That was the first time in years that I felt loved. Truly loved. I was able to fall asleep fairly quickly in her arms, which was almost funny because whenever I tried to sleep by myself, in my own bed, it never worked out. No matter how many sleeping pills I take or lullabies I hum to myself, nothing ever seemed to do the trick. But with her, it was different. When I was with her, I felt at peace for once. When I was with her, the warmth from her skin soothed me in ways I never imagined possible. It was something I was lacking in, I was always around cold people, and I was a cold person myself. Yet even so, I was still shocked to discover just how easily I fell asleep on her._

_Fast forward to a few months later. Just like with Gerard, I grew close to her very quickly. She learned all there was to know about me, and I'd like to think I learned all there was to learn about her. We spend ever free second we had with each other. When she wasn't studying, she was busy showering me in (what I assumed to be) platonic affection. Me falling asleep on her had become a regular thing. It's not like I ever intended for it to happen, it just always did. I began to suspect eventually that she was humming that song on purpose so I would fall asleep in her arms. That devious little shit. I can't say I ever minded, though. I loved when she would hold me tight while I slept, I loved everything she did._

_I loved when she smacked a boy across the face after tossing an insult at me. I loved when she put my hair into twin braids often because she said it looked adorable on me. And I loved when she took me out of my comfort zone quite often, taking me to places and events that I certainly wouldn't have gone to by myself. I loved everything she did. I loved her._

_We were sitting in a small indie cafe down the street from her house. We were in a booth across from each other with steaming hot cups in front of us. The steam from the beverage blew into our faces and I took peace in the smell of it. The silence was interrupted when Naomi spoke up, giving me an expectant expression._

_"Can I ask you something?"_

_"You just did." I retorted. She rolled her eyes at me. I giggled and told her "Go ahead."_

_After sipping from her white mug and setting it back down on the table, she leaned over with a hint of a smile gracing her lips._

_"Is there anyone you're in love with?"_

_I was taken aback by this question. My eyes widened when she asked it, and I stuttered for a few moments before I started gathering my thoughts and bearings. How was I supposed to answer that question? I couldn't very well tell her the truth..._

_"I-yes?"_

_"You are?"_

_"Um, yeah...I guess you could say that."_

_Her eyebrows came together in curiosity, she leaned over a bit more._

_"Describe who it is for me."_

_I gulped down a breath of air and tugged slightly on the collar of my shirt. The neckline had suddenly become much more suffocating than I remembered. Was it always like that?_

_I didn't keep her waiting for too long for fear of her growing impatient. I started describing her what the person I loved looked like, and looking back on it, now, I'm more than certain that she knew the answer right from the beginning. She just takes enjoyment out of seeing me get all flustered and bothered. She even admitted to purposely making me blush not long after. That beautiful fucking shit. That was yet another thing that I loved about her, the way she knew how to press all of my buttons in all the right ways._

_"Well..." I began. I glanced up at her piercing gaze for a split second and then landed my eyes back onto my cup of black coffee. "For starters, they always have this way of quieting my mind and all of the negative thoughts it produces."_

_That should have been her first clue on who I was referring to. Based on the way her head tilted and a playful smirk starting to form on her mouth, she knew just exactly who I was talking about._

_"They have these illuminating eyes that could light up an entire world. I know they light up mine." I continued. "They never fail to remind me of my significance, and how gorgeous they think I am. They've saved me in more ways than one. They gave me something to live for, they are the reason why I can smile a genuine smile, now. And I couldn't be more grateful for everything they've done to me. I don't deserve them... I don't deserve her."_

_I looked back up at her when I said 'her', and made sure she was crystal clear on how I was directing these words toward._

_"I am in love with everything she is."_

_Tears pricked at her eyes once I was finished, and her lips morphed from a playful smirk to a meaningful grin, to which I eventually came to return. Her hands flew up to my head, one of them landing on my cheek and the other one cradling the back of my head. She leaned over even more to where her lips were hovering over mine by just a mere millimeter. When she spoke, I could feel her breath tickling me, and I resisted the urge to giggle._

_"You deserve all the happiness in the world, my sweet girl. You don't realize it, but ever time I see you, every time you look at me, and every time you speak...I want nothing more than to just kiss you. I'm in love with you, more so than you realize. When I found you in that bathroom four months ago, it shattered me inside when I saw you with mascara running down your little Bambi eyes. I pained me even more to see you hurting yourself like that. Nobody deserved that kind of misery. Especially you."_

_She never gave me a chance to reply, for she was delving her lips into mine. It was everything I had imagined it to be. She tasted like the coffee she devoured on a daily basis, and I couldn't help but grab her face with my hands and kiss her back with as much as passion as she did. I never wanted for this moment to end, this moment of zen and clarity. Nothing was more perfect than the feeling of her stroking my hair and saying just how much she cared for me in between long kisses. My eyes were shut tight, and at this moment in time, nothing else existed except for her._

_All that mattered was her._

_All that I cared about was her._

_All I wanted to be around was her._

_No one has ever made me feel so loved, so appreciated. Not even my own mother could make me feel a fraction of what she did. My heart exploded in my chest in a mirage of rainbows and confetti. My once dull, gray conscience was now blooming with colors from all over the spectrum and it was all because of her. The one and only. My one and only..._

_Naomi Dawson._


	19. Froot

**Winter's POV**

_The first time I ever gave myself completely over to someone was, no surprise at all, Naomi. Before that night I was alone with her, I hadn't even considered the thought of getting intimate with anyone, no matter how much I fancied them. The thought alone terrified me to no end, and even when I was with Naomi, it scared me to think that we would ever do something like that. I didn't want anyone to see my body and all of the repulsing scars it has to offer, and I certainly didn't want anyone to see me vulnerable in that way; sprawled on my back, and so open for them. Maybe other people were okay with something like that, but I wasn't. I got nervous and jittery when our lip locking sessions got slightly too heated, so you can imagine just how red in the face I was when she asked if I was a virgin._

_We were having a sleepover one night at her house, both of her parents were off for some business trip and my Okaasan was probably locked in her room with her face pressed against a computer screen and her bony fingers becoming one with the keyboard. The whole house was dark and silent, Naomi's poodle named Marilyn had retreated back into her doggy bed where she remained for the rest of the night. We were in her room with me laying on my side while she spooned me from behind. Her arms were coiled tightly around my abdomen and her nose pressed into my hair. I could feel her chest rising and falling against my back. Every so often, she would deliver fluttery kisses to the crook of my neck making me giggle as her lips tickled my skin. At some point, I had turned my upper body over to face her, offering her an innocent grin._

_"You're so gorgeous, my sweet girl." she cooed to me before going in for a kiss on the lips. Her arms were still wrapped around my stomach rather tightly, making me feel safe and secure. The kiss was soft and untarnished for the first few minutes. Neither of us moved from our spots and we remained in that position for quite some time. In all honesty, I didn't want us to move. Things were so peaceful and simple, at that moment I wasn't pining for affection from my mother and she wasn't worried over whether or not the University of New York would accept her application or not. It was like when we were together, nothing else mattered. All of our troubles just melted away along with any traces of discontent we had. Neither of us ever had to try at all in order to make the other person happy. Elation just came so naturally, and that was something that I had never experienced before, and after I lost her for good I didn't think I could ever find someone to make me feel a fraction of what she did again._

_I'm glad I was wrong._

_"Winter." she whispered my name into my ear. I felt her breath on my ear and a shiver creep down my spine. Something about her voice was different...It was still as gentle sounding as it always was, but it also sounded coquettish and almost seductive. That sound all by itself was enough to make my face burn red, I'm sure she could feel it from where she was._

_"Y-Yes?" I gazed up at her with what she referred to as big anime eyes. Something in her own eyes seemed to darken, but not in a malicious way. It wasn't like she wanted to slit my throat or harm me in anyway. They darkened with what I can only describe was desire when I think about it now that I'm older. Back then, I was simply too naive to understand right away what it was that she was thinking about. But it was as clear as crystal to me, now. I still curse myself to this day for being so innocent, too innocent for my own good._

_"I'm gonna ask you a question, but you don't have to answer if you're at all uncomfortable." as she said this, one of her hands began traveling south to grip at my inner thigh. A little gasp shot from my throat and she gave it a little squeeze. I nodded my head at her. "Are you a virgin, sweetie?"_

_Needless to say, I wasn't at all expecting for her to ask something as bold as that. My eyes went big, she chuckled lowly down at me. Part of me wanted for this conversation to end before it even began, but another part of me that I simply couldn't ignore, craved for her to touch me in ways that no one ever had before. I didn't want to disappoint her by not answering the question, so I tentatively nodded._

_"Mmm...So perfect," she hummed into my ear, and then gave it a small tug with her teeth. My breath hitched at this sudden action, and something came shooting down my body. Something that made me want her even more, something that made me squirm like a noodle. The same hand that Naomi was using to grasp onto my inner thigh slowly went upwards, nearing dangerously close to a certain area. Almost as if my voice was out of my control, a high pitched desperate whine erupted from my mouth. Naomi's drive suddenly increased and her movements became slightly quicker, sharper, and more intense._

_"Do you want me, baby? Do you want me to keep going?"_

_I faltered for a moment. Once again, I felt conflicted on the inside. Did I want to take part in something like this? Or was this simply too much for me? The last thing I wanted to do was let her down, her eyes read lust and so did her voice. Every touch felt electrified somehow, and as I was coming to a decision, I felt her hand carefully slip itself into the waistband of my pajama shorts and underneath my underwear as well. As soon as her fingers made contact with my bare core, the loudest, more dainty gasp came shooting out. I wasn't expecting for it to feel so good already, and it was in that moment I made up my mind for sure. This was what I wanted._

_"Do you like it, honey? Do you want me to keep going?" she repeated. At this point, she had me wrapped around her finger, almost literally. Her grip along my abdomen tightened, demanding a response. My mind was clouded over with a hankering for some sort of release. I was throbbing and aching for more of her touch. I continued to whine, gasp and moan underneath her. This seemed to egg her on even further, and soon, I felt her slip a finger into me. My mouth was wide open in a silent scream; it barely fit inside._

_She slowly moved herself in and out at a leisurely pace, always making sure to keep me at the edge of my seat. She was teasing me, never letting anything build. When it got to the point where I thought it would, she would slow down or stop entirely, leaving me a panting mess begging for more. I felt almost ashamed that I was so vulnerable, so libidinous and so wanton. All for her, and only her._

_Just when I thought she would grant me mercy, she unraveled her arms from around me but I didn't have enough time to complain. She flipped me over and spread my legs apart while she settled herself in between them. I made eye contact with her for the first time since she initiated this heated exchange and I felt a little embarrassed. I probably looked pathetically desperate. Naomi looked down at me with a mischievous yet tender grin._

_"You look so wonderful, letting me take control. So hot and bothered," she leaned down to kiss me passionately. "I love it."_

_I then felt her separate my lips with her own and her tongue invading my mouth. My arms came to grip on her shoulders, and while she frenched me with all the skill in the world, she ground her body harshly against mine. I moaned into her mouth as this was enough to start making the pleasure build once more. Her hands came down to grip my behind rather tightly, lifting my body up to press against her even further while also intensifying the amount of pressure her body was applying to my most heated area. I cried out in unadulterated hedonism, it almost sounded like a sob._

_"Those sounds you make-oh god- they're music to my ears!" she almost growled. "Louder baby, I wanna hear you be louder, I want to hear you scream, can you do that baby? Scream for me, let me hear you." she kept encouraging and prompting for me to be louder. I didn't want to disappoint her. With every word she spoke, the ever building gratification just got more potent and soon I started to think that I might have a soar throat by the time she was finished with me. Her grip on me grew so tight, it hurt. But I loved it. I loved that her nails were digging into my skin, surely leaving bright red marks. I loved that the pressure on my core was just bordering on the edge of too much for me to handle. Her movements and her voice was making this experience so fierce and I could feel the pure love emitting from her. This made it a lot easier for me to fulfill her demands. Be louder. Be louder!_

_"I love you so much, sweet girl! I love you so fucking much!" she never slowed in her actions, in fact the more she spoke the faster and harsher they became. I continued to cry out and grip onto her for dear life. By now, I was getting closer and closer to release. "I wanna protect you from everything, honey! I wanna be there to wipe your tears when you're sad, I wanna hold your hand all the time!"_

_Soon, my hips and my thighs began to tingle and tears started to form underneath my sharp eyelids. Oh god, what was she doing to me?_

_"You look so beautiful like this, I wanna see it more often. My little ripe **cerise**. So ready to be devoured, tell me, are you ready baby? Tell me you're ready, tell me how much you love it, please baby!" _

_"I-I'm ready!" I sobbed in delight._

_"Louder, my sweet girl, louder!"_

_"I'm ready!" I moaned even louder. My center was being ground very harshly against her still, and my legs were sprawled out in the air on either side of her. My head was turned, and I was seeing our dark shadows mimicking our actions. I couldn't believe how fucking unchaste I looked, so open, so ready, just like she said...Above me, Naomi looked even more powerful and dominating than before. Soon, the pleasure spiked without warning and I knew I was close, so close to release. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and tears fell from my eyes. It was a mixture of painful pleasure, and a swelling uncontrollable love for the woman above me who had absolute control over me. My moans were louder and higher, and through them, I could hear Naomi moaning and humming in satisfaction as well. Her eyes never left my face for one second. Once again, I almost felt humiliated because I looked so fucking vulnerable. My legs were trembling like crazy at this point. I felt about ready to explode._

_"I-I think I'm c-clo-AH!" I screamed when she growled and applied even more pressure. It actually did hurt at this point, but I loved it. I was throbbing so hard and I cried out over and over again, begging her not to stop. I was so close, so close...._

_"Naomi, NAOMIIIIII!" I squealed so loud as I felt the final straw bend and break and waves-no. Tsunami's of puissant and beyond intense pleasure smashed into me. I threw my head back in a breathless scream, yet she didn't slow down one bit. If anything, she got faster and more ruthless. I sobbed and panted and dug my nails into her shoulders. I couldn't believe she had managed to reduce me to a wet hot mess._

_The tsunami's gradually got smaller until they were small waves and eventually, I was spent. It was then and only then that she slowed in her movements. I was panting underneath her, arms collapsing onto either side of me. Her grip on my bottom loosened and she leaned down to lay on top of me, my legs still wrapped around her waist. She leaned in for a gentle kiss this time._

_"So perfect, I wanna see you like that more often."_


	20. Cigarette Daydreams

**Winter's POV**

_After a brief, playful argument on who should pay for dinner tonight, Naomi and I exited a fairly sophisticated restaurant and out into the chilly streets of the city. We were both wrapped in long pea coats, hers was black while mine was bright white and came flowing down around my hips in a dress like formation. My hair was up in a high ponytail with a dark red flower hair clip stuck to the side of my head. It was one that Naomi insisted I wear, since she made it no secret that red was her favorite color on me. I personally wasn't a fan of the color back then, but I was willing to do anything to make her happy. So I smiled and wore it like she asked._

_"Did you have fun tonight, my little **cerise**?" she asked while grabbing my hand and leading me down the sidewalk. We weren't sure where we were headed to now. But it didn't matter. We were giddy and smiling nonstop. My heart was about to burst right out of my chest and I had to restrain myself a number of times tonight from shedding tears of joy. It was truly amazing how just six months ago, I was alone and helpless. I was unhappy to say the least, and if I hadn't met her when I did, I would have more likely than not, hung myself from my ceiling fan just to rid myself of the agony that was caused by the torture of Ronnie and Aaron. But that didn't happen because she found me crying in the bathroom stall and took it upon herself to take care of me. Ever since then, I couldn't stop myself, and I didn't want to stop myself from tumbling headfirst into an abyss of love. I was in love with her. I always will be._

_And even though the bullying didn't stop or lesson, it became so much easier for me to handle. It didn't have much of an effect on me anymore because I had her by my side. She taught me to not give a shit what anyone said about me, she taught me how to love myself. Because of her, I was able to gaze at myself in the mirror and smile despite my imperfections. She rewired my brain so that they weren't the first thing to pop out at me when I saw my reflection. Thinking about this made me grip her hand even tighter._

_"I had so much fun!" I squealed. "I loved it! I love you!" I beamed. She laughed at my answer and for a moment, we stopped off to the side of the asphalt. I stood on my tippy toes and wrapped my arms around her neck. She took a hold of my waist and lifted me up, spinning me around before placing me back onto my feet._

_"I'm so happy you liked it my sweet girl, I wanna do this with you more often."_

_"I do, too. You always know how to make any boring night into one I'll never forget."_

_I caught a glimpse of pink dusting across her cheeks and I squealed, as I had never been able to make her blush like that before. It's always been the other way around, so you can imagine my elation. I didn't point it out, though. Instead, I jumped up and landed a kiss to her cheek. She grinned and leaned down to press one to my forehead._

_"Where do you want to go next? The night is young, I don't want it to end right now."_

_"Hm..." I placed my index finger on my chin and thought. I was always horrible with making decisions like this. Call me a stereotypical indecisive female, but I've struggled with this problem ever since I was a little girl. That's why Naomi took the liberty of choosing where we ate tonight. If it were up to me, we wouldn't have even left her house until about midnight._

_"I don't know...Where do you wanna go?"_

_She scoffed playfully and rolled her eyes. She then mumbled some teasing comment about how I can't make decisions to save my life. I smacked her upper arm, which only prompted even further laughter._

_"I love youuu!" she tried to distract me from said comment. It didn't work though._

_"You're so mean!"_

_"But I love youuu!"_

_"I love you too, you dork." I finally gave up. After that, we recessed into a comfortable silence. We continued walking hand in hand, enjoying each other's company. We still hadn't decided where we wanted to go now, so we were just wandering aimlessly until we spotted somewhere we thought would be interesting. We could have ended up sitting alone at the park for another few hours, or we could have ended up going into a candy shop and purchasing a mountain of pocky and gummy bears like last time. One of our favorite things to do together was eat an obscene amount of sweets while watching classic Ghibli films. Our favorite being My Neighbor Totoro of course, and it still continues to be my favorite to this day._

_I got to thinking, though, about when she would go off to college and where she would end up attending. I know she was planning on going to the New York University, and had already submitted her application. She wasn't planning on going to an out of state university, but there was always the possibility of that happening. What if she didn't get accepted? What if she went to Upenn, instead? Or worse, what if she went to school somewhere even father away? Like Virginia, or Arizona, or Illinois?_

_No no no, shut up Winter! That won't happen, she's a straight a student, has never gotten detention or suspended and has always been the ideal student. She would definitely get into NYU._

_But then again, even if she does get accepted, there's also the fact that college would be ten times more difficult than high school. She would constantly be swamped with essays and book reports, and our time together would be extremely limited. And in addition to that, I would be a junior soon, and I would possibly start looking into colleges myself. If not college, then trade school, or even art school. I still hadn't made up my mind on what I wanted to do for a living. I knew that I wanted to be a performer of some kind. But that was it._

_Maybe I was being selfish by dreading when she could go off to college. Actually, no scratch that. I was definitely being selfish. But what was I supposed to do? She was my only friend, and I was utterly terrified of being alone again. But no matter what would happen, whether we drifted apart or stayed together through the years, I would always support her in her endeavors whatever the outcome may be. Because that's what you do when you're in love with someone._

_"Naomi."_

_She turned her head and looked down at me when I called out to her._

_"What is it, doll?"_

_I bit my lip and thought about whether I should really ask her this. But it was too late, I've already got her looking at me and she would know that something was up even if I decided not to. So I took a leap of faith and asked it anyway._

_"You don't think we'll grow apart when you go away, do you?"_

_Her grip on my hand tautened significantly and she didn't hesitate one second in her response._

_"Like hell that will ever happen." she said in a firm voice. She then stopped up once again and took a hold of my shoulders. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was angry at me for even insinuating something like that._

_"Look at me, baby." she commanded. I obeyed without question. "I know this is a scary thing, we'll have to be away from each other more than we'd like. believe me, it's as terrifying for me as it is for you. I don't want to leave you by yourself for even a second. But I will promise you here and now, that I will never ever let us drift apart. I've never loved anyone as much as I love you."_

_For emphasis, she grabbed my hand and linked our pinkie fingers together._

_"I promise you here and now, that no matter what happens, you will be my number one priority."_

_Despite the aching in my chest and the tears starting to poke out from my eyes, I smiled and nodded._

_"I love you." she whispered, leaning her forehead against mine._

_"I love you, too."_

_The next thing I knew, we were kissing each other rather passionately and I could hear some people who were passing by cooing and making lovey dovey noises in general. Neither of us wanted to pull away, but it was pretty cold outside and we couldn't very well just stand here forever. Although, if it was with her, I don't think I would have minded very much, or at all._

_"What d'ya say we go get some ice cream, hm?" she suggested. As I said before, it was really cold outside and I was starting to shiver despite that I was wearing a decently thick winter coat (no pun intended). But I agreed with her, anyway, and soon enough we were on our way to the nearest ice cream shoppe._

_The atmosphere around us had dampened slightly, and even though neither of us said anything about it, we could still tell that it was there. Our hands remained tangled together and every so often, I felt her thumb gently caressing my skin as a silent comforting method. It worked, because I no longer felt the overwhelming urge to cry. I was certain that things would be okay. We still had the whole summer after this school year ended to be together before we temporarily went off on our own paths._ _We could enjoy and cherish every moment of it as if it were our last._

_Everything was going to be okay. I was certain of it. It was inevitable that we would run into many obstacles along the way, but if I can somehow manage to crawl out of the deep, dark well that was my crippling depression, then I could survive a few years of this. Besides, she promised me that once I graduated high school myself, that we would get an apartment together and start out lives side by side; hand in hand. We would then live our the rest of our lives together. Maybe (and this is a huge maybe) we would start a family._

_We were walking hand in hand once more, nearing closer to the ice cream shoppe when I felt a force come out of nowhere and knock me nearly all the way across the plaza. I shrieked in terror as I felt my body crash into the concrete ground, knocking the wind right out of me. I was so taken off guard, that the only thing I could do was stare up at whatever it was that attacked me. I came face to face with a boy who had chin length dark brown, nearly black hair, unnaturally pale ivory skin, and bright blue eyes. But they weren't bright in the sense that they were shimmering like the view of an ocean under a sunset. They were bright in a quite literal context. They glowed like flashlights, almost blinding me by looking at them. They made my body tense up and I knew in that moment that I was fucked._

_"You look so delicious, I bet you're a virgin too. Oh, you're gonna taste to good..." he smirked down at me with malicious intent. I squirmed underneath him and screamed for someone, anyone to help me. A man in his late fourties yelled at him to get off me and went to assist me by grabbing at the boy's arms. But he made it abundantly clear that he was nowhere near being human when he elbowed the man in the face. He was knocked unconscious instantly, falling to the ground in a heap. I screamed louder this time and attempted to crawl out from underneath him. He clamped down on my neck though, making me choke and struggle to breath._

_"Shh, just let it happen honey, things will be so much easier."_

_Before I knew it, he leaned over me, keeping a firm grip on my neck and opened his mouth wide to expose a wide array of razor sharp teeth. If he colored his hair bright red, he could have easily passed for a real life Grell Sutcliffe, they were so sharp, and I knew just what he was about to do. I didn't want to be like the typical damsel in distress you see in all those films. So I managed to go against his hold on my neck and head butt him in the forehead. Unfortunately for me, the only thing it succeeded in doing was pissing him off. He took his other hand, slammed it against my forehead and smashed my head back onto the pavement. The force of that alone was enough to make me see stars._

_The boy then leaned down and bit me. He bit into the space just between my neck and my shoulder. His teeth were like knives, digging into my skin and tearing the flesh. It felt like I was being bitten by a giant anaconda and I screamed while simultaneously batting at him with what little strength I had. Again, it didn't do anything to deter him from sucking the life right out of me. I didn't know what the fuck he was, but it obviously wasn't human._

_As he continued to drain me of all my vital fluid, more black spots started showing up in my vision and my eyelids became difficult to keep open. Was I dying? Was this what it felt like to die?_

_"GET THE FUCK OFF HER!!" I heard Naomi screech like a banshee before slamming a metal chair she stole from a nearby table and smash it into the side of this psychopath's head. He let out a yelp and fell to the side, the pressure of his bite disappearing yet the wound still throbbed and bled profusely. I rolled onto my side and sobbed as tears started pouring out of my eyes like a waterfall._

_"Winter! Baby, h-holy fuck what do I do, what do I do!?" Naomi knelt beside me and started pressing her hands into the large bite. It only caused it to hurt more and I screamed, begging her to stop, but she couldn't. I remember her saying she was sorry, but she couldn't let me bleed out as that kid had taken a full chunk right out of me. What was I a fucking steak to him?_

_"God...damn! You pack a hard hit lady!" the boy rose to his feet and saw Naomi cradling me in her lap, using her own hands as a tourniquet. He smirked at this and laughed maniacally. As he started stalking closer to us, Naomi suddenly stood, taking me with me. I struggled to stand on my feet and she had to basically hold me in order for me to not fall over. I guess the blood loss was really getting to me, now._

_"Do not come near us! Get the fuck away!!" she then pulled out a small switchblade from the inside pocket of her coat and held it out, blade first while holding me upright. The boy didn't seem fazed in the slightest, and instead came even closer whilst Naomi backed us away._

_"You think a tiny little blade like that is gonna do anything to me? You can't be that fucking retarded!" he laughed._

_"GET THE FUCK AWAY!!" she howled. I flinched and cried harder. I had never seen her raise her voice that much, let alone get that furious. It scared me, and her vexation wasn't even directed towards me._

_Soon, he was within arms reach. He went to grab me from her arms, but before he had a chance to, Naomi shoved me away to avoid being caught by him again. I went falling to the side and the aching in my shoulder intensified. But I knew Naomi only did that to keep the deranged psychopath before us from hurting me further. She did it to protect me, but I wish she hadn't. I'd much rather be the one to get hurt instead of being forced to watch as the boy smacked the knife from her hands and push her into one of the nearby tables of the plaza. She barely managed to remain standing and I saw subtle hints of fear in her bright blue orbs._

_I couldn't lay here and watch him hurt her anymore. I hobbled up to my feet and went charging at him. I knew in the back of my mind that I wouldn't be able to do much damage. I'm not even strong enough to go up against someone who was a human, let alone someone like him. But I had to do something. So I leaped up behind him and started clawing at his eyes. He growled and threw me down onto the asphalt once more. I groaned, but managed to get up again and shield Naomi with my body._

_"Winter, go, run!" she commanded. I shook my head. I usually always listened to her demands, because she always had a good reason for it. But I just couldn't this time._

_"Don't touch her-"_

_"Listen to me when I give you an order! Go and call the police!"_

_"He's gonna kill you!"_

_"He'll kill you too if you don't get out of here!"_

_The boy shook his head as well. "I'd advice not to go against your lover's advice, sweetheart."_

_"Go to fucking hell!" I spat._

_"Been there, it's not all that great." he said in a casual fashion. He then stomped forward and loomed over me, a growl rumbling low in his chest. I gulped. This wouldn't end well, I knew that much. But I was hoping that Naomi would at least walk out of this unscathed. I noticed the boy's eyes trailing down to the wound he left on my shoulder and the blood seeping through the fabric. He licked his lips and reached out for me._

_"NO!" Naomi screamed again. I smacked his hand away and lunged for his throat. Naomi was too in shock to do anything as I had managed to knock him backwards. I then started throwing punch after punch at his face, which I wasn't expecting that to do much damage at all. But I was so fueled by rage, so blinded by raw fury, that I guess it affected how much destruction I was capable of. His nose was bleeding pretty heavily and his lip was busted up badly. I was too pissed off to care that his smirk was still growing larger and larger, his laughing becoming more crazed by the second. There was no way in fucking hell I was going to be the damsel in distress, I wouldn't let Naomi get hurt. Not over my dead body._

_Behind me, I could hear Naomi on the phone with the cops. I continued to pummel the bastards face in when he eventually grew tired of my antics and threw me off of him. I rolled on the ground and tried to get back up, but the kid beat me to the punch. He snatched me by the hair and forced me to stand. I guess Naomi couldn't stand to see this, for she dove for her switchblade and came running towards us. I started clawing at the boy's face again, but without warning, his teeth chomped down on my hand and I ripped it away. He then wrenched my head to the side, giving him a clear path to my neck._

_"Watch it!" he warned. Naomi stopped, still wielding the weapon. By this time, the entire plaza was barren and emptied. Nobody wanted to stick around to see who this boy would end up killing._

_My head was craned to the side in an awkward position, his teeth just centimeters away from clamping down onto my flesh and ripping out my neck completely. More tears spilled down my face at the thought of becoming his fucking feast. But I'd rather have it be me than her. I made eye contact with her and I could see she looked even more scared than I was._

_"Come any closer and I'll cannibalize her in the blink of an eye. Wouldn't want that now would you?"_

_Naomi froze, not knowing what to do. If she makes another move, he'll kill me on the spot. But then again, if she doesn't then he'll probably still kill me. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation. Part of me begged for her to do something, anything to get me out of the arms of this madman! But the other part of me screamed at her to just walk away. I'm not worth it. I'm not going anywhere, anyway. I might not even graduate high school. But she has a bright future ahead of her. She's gonna go to NYU, she's gonna make something out of herself. She's gonna leave behind a legacy that will last for generations upon generations. Me on the other hand?_

_She's better off leaving me to die. And that's what I wanted her to do. I'll be dead either way._

_"You're hungry, aren't you?" she asked. If I was able to, I would have cocked my head to the side in utter befuddlement. What was an absurd question like that going to achieve? Nevertheless, the boy answered._

_"More than you know, sweetie. I've been waiting for an opportunity like this for a loong time."_

_"Then kill me instead."_

_I gasped and suddenly screamed louder than I ever have before._

_"No! No, don't you dare! Just kill me now! Get it over with!" I begged. The boy gave Naomi a once over, and I couldn't see it but I'm willing to bet he wore a sick, twisted grin on his face. Just thinking about it made me sick to my stomach. He couldn't really be considering this, could he? I'm right here! He could just snap my neck right now and eat me right here! So why not just get it over with?_

_"Please!" Naomi cried. I watched her as she then dropped the knife and it went clattering to the ground and kicking it away. "I'm surrendering, okay? Just, leave her be. She's only just a kid...please..."_

_"What is wrong with you!? Why are doing this!?" I squirmed and tried kicking at the boy's foot, but he tightened the pressure on my neck and I yelped. He kept staring at her, and she kept staring back. Her hands were raised above her head and once her gaze landed on me again, she mouthed an apology which only made me cry harder. She was really doing this. She was sacrificing herself to let me live. Why, though? I'm not worth it._

_"Well, you do look more appetizing, I must say. Not that you aren't pretty, darling," that second part was directed at me. His breath ghosted over my neck, teasing me and almost making me think that he would bite me again. "But she on the other hand....you look like you'd be more filling."_

_"Well she's not!" I yelled in a lame attempt to save her. But there was no point. It's clear he's already made up his mind. Nonetheless, though, I would fight to the very end to keep her face._

_"Quiet baby, you don't want me changing my mind and eating you, too."_

_Without warning, he released his hold on my neck and instead kicked my legs out from under me. I was soon laying on the ground once more, but this time I was left immobile. My calves were throbbing and it hurt to just move them. I still refused to give up, even then._

_The boy started sauntering over to Naomi, who stood her ground. She was taking shaky breathes and trying not to cower in the face of death._

_"No no no! Get away from her! I'm right here! You've bitten me once already! I'm right here! I'M RIGHT HERE!" I kept screaming over and over again. I managed to stand again, though I would barely walk and my head was swimming. I knew I wasn't capable of fighting at all. Whether or not I was capable in the first place was highly debatable. But now, I just felt deplorable._

_The boy lifted a hand to cup her face, almost as if he were going to kiss her. She kept staring at the ground no matter what, silent tears slipping down her red cheeks. At the last possible second, his lips hovering over hers, he dipped his head down and sunk his teeth into her neck like he nearly did with mine. I wailed as soon as he did so, and I begged for him to change his mind. But it was far too late. Within minutes, her entire body had paled dramatically, and she looked like a standing corpse. I tried going up and ripping him away, but he elbowed my face like he did with that older man who tried saving me. My nose was bleeding and every time I came close to him, he would send another attack my way. It got to the point where I simply couldn't take anymore, yet even still I persisted. But no matter what I threw at him, nothing ever deterred him, nothing ever hurt him enough to let her go._

_Soon, he had finished with his little meal and let her go, leaving her to fall to the ground. He turned to me with a satisfied grin, blood dribbling from between his teeth and down his chin. "Easily five stars." he said, before going to run off. A burst of adrenaline pumped through my veins, and I started running towards him. I was intending on attacking him again with a renewed vigor. It didn't matter if it ended up killing me or not. I just wanted nothing more than to make him suffer._

_Before I could reach him, I felt something grab at my ankle, stopping me in my tracks. I looked down, and it was Naomi. She was laying in a heap, and I couldn't leave her here by herself. I temporarily forgot about wanting to make that fucking bastard suffer. I instead knelt over her and brought her into my lap and tried pressing on her wound as she had done with my earlier._

_"N-Naomi, why would you-why? Why?" I cried over her, rocking her back and forth and praying for the police to get here soon. "Why couldn't you just let him kill me instead? Why, why!?"_

_She reached a cold hand up and cupped my cheek, wiping away my tears. If I had been paying attention, I would have noticed that Naomi's fingers were covered in blood instead of tears. But that didn't matter at all right now. I could have been literally melting above her and I wouldn't have given a shit._

_"Because, baby, I love you. And love is sacrifice. I wouldn't have been able to go on living if I had lost you."_

_"But what am I supposed to do? I need you, Naomi! I need yo more than anything, what am I gonna do? Please don't leave me please, please you can't! I need you! I need you!" I kept repeating over and over again, crying harder with each word I sobbed. She smiled kindly up at me, despite being in immense pain and on the verge of death. She tucked a lock of hair and behind my ear and leaned up to kiss me softly on the lips. I did my best to kiss her back, but it only made me want to cry harder. Her lips were cold. They were never cold._

_"I know, my sweet girl. But you'll be okay, I know it. You're strong, you can do it...!"_

_"N-No, I can't-"_

_"You can. You can, and you will. I believe in you, my sweet sweet little **cerise**. I believe in you, and I believe you can make sure that things like him...don't hurt anyone else." her voice was weak and frail. I could tell she was exhausting herself by that alone._

_"I...I promise...I promise he won't fucking get away with this! You have my word! I-I love you! I love you!"_

_"I love you, too, baby doll." she wheezed. Her neck was still bleeding, despite the majority of her blood being drained out of her. I could tell she was just growing weaker and I knew she would die before the police would get here. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but she wasn't going to make it. I tried everything I could think of, I applied pressure to her wound, I tried getting her to sit up, I tried giving her water that was in my bag. But nothing changed the fact that she was running out of time. I was about to lose her._

_As if on cue, raindrops started falling from the sky down onto us. I shielded her face with my body and tried to keep her as warm as possible._

_"Sing to me, please?" she asked. I stared down at her, wanting to tell her she didn't want to hear me sing. I didn't have a good voice. But this...this was her last dying wish, I couldn't deny it. So I cleared my voice and prepared to sing. I almost wanted to sing Don't Fear the Reaper, but I figured that wouldn't be right in this scenario. She was literally dying in my arms. So instead, I went with one that she seemed to love a lot. It was a song she once said reminded her of me._

_My voice was raspy and strained from my constant screaming. But I did it anyway._

_" **Did you stand there all alone? Oh I cannot explain what's going down...** " I paused, trying to remember the rest of the lyrics. Her lips pulled into a tired little smile despite how awful I sounded. " **I can see you standing next to me, in and out, somewhere else right now...You sigh, look away, I can see it clear as day**_

_**"Close your eyes, so afraid, hide behind that baby face** _

_**"Do do do do do do~** _

_**"You can drive all night looking for the answers in the pouring rain** _

_**"You wanna find peace of mine, looking for the answer..."** _

_Her grin widened, and eventually her eyes closed. For a moment, I thought she had passed already. But her chest was still moving up and down. Albeit, it was exponentially slow. But it was still moving, and I hoped it would never stop. But I knew that hope was fruitless._

_" **F-Funny how it seems like yesterday as I recall you were looking out of place**_

_**"Gathered up your thinks and slipped away, no time at all I followed you into the h-hall** _ **_..."_ **

_My voice nearly caved at these next lyrics, but I persisted as I could tell Naomi's was enjoying my little performance._

_"Beautiful..." she hummed. My tears dripped onto her face, but she didn't seem to mind._

_" **C-Cigarette daydream...you were only seventeen...**_

_**"Soft speak w-with a m-mean streak nearly brought me to-to my knees..."** _

_I never got to finish the song before her breathing stopped and I knew she was done for. Her whole body had gone limp, arms splayed out on either side of her. I wanted to call out her name and ask her to wake up. I wanted to yell and scream at her that this wasn't funny. But I was well aware that this was no joke. She was gone. I couldn't save her. I didn't try hard enough._

_I continued to sing the rest of the song despite no one being here to hear it anymore. I wasn't just singing for her any longer, I was singing for her and for me. But soon, my singing died out and was replaced with something else. I couldn't contain myself for another second. My throat felt as if it were closing off and I was blinded from all the crying. I couldn't keep myself from sobbing hysterically like a child. I rocked back and forth, refusing to let her go. Even when the police finally arrived after an eternity of waiting, they had to pry me away from her and put me in cuffs to keep me from hurting them, or from hurting myself as I had started scratching incessantly at my arms. I could see the raw pink flesh and I knew there would be scabs there the very next day. But I didn't give a fuck anymore._

_When they escorted me home and released me from my restraints, I completely disregarded my mother's attempts at comforting me and stomped right into my room, slamming the door. I stood against my door frame for a good ten minutes before I caught a glimpse of myself in the vanity mirror and realized that my eyes were crimson red._


	21. Cosmic Love

**Gerard's POV**

This past week has been hell for me. For a full seven days, Winter has gone through great lengths to avoid me. She's even gone as far as to ditch my class every day and go hang out in a bathroom stall for about fifty minutes. I wanted to go up and talk to her and ask what was wrong, but that would be a pretty stupid question, wouldn't it? I already know what's wrong. She knows I'm something more than human, in fact, she knows I'm someone who is capable of killing dozens of humans in the blink of an eye. But I hoped to god she knew I wasn't like those Maligns I was talking about. I would never dream of hurting her or anyone like her. I'm not a bloodthirsty animal. Sure, I may have a questionable history, but one, the past doesn't define who I am today, and two, she knows nothing of what I've done. And she never will. All she needs to know is that my main priority is protecting her, and protecting Mikey.

School had let out for the day, and I could see the sky starting to grow dimmer every hour I stayed in this classroom, grading papers and occasionally closing my eyes for a five minute nap. Really, anything that could get my mind off of my problems and troubles even if for a few minutes at the most. It was nearing seven o'clock by now, and I knew it was time to head home soon. I didn't want to leave my brother alone for too long. I know he is fully capable of defending himself when the time comes for it. But even if he were ten feet tall and had the muscle mass of both Mike Tyson and Shaquille O'Neal combined, I would still only see him as a wimpy anime nerd who I was hellbent on keeping safe no matter what. He would always be my baby brother. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost him.

I gathered my things at a leisurely pace and mentally prepared myself for another night without my girlfriend. Of course, I always came to check up on her every chance I could just to make sure she was still safe. I wasn't just going to completely forget about her. But I never stayed for more than two minutes, just because I felt like a creepy stalker anytime I was outside her window. God only knows what she would have done if she saw me watching her from the bush outside her apartment. I hoped she would never find me like that.

Once I had everything stuffed into my satchel, I turned to walk out the door, shutting it behind me. I cursed under my breath when I accidentally dropped my keys onto the tile ground. I bent down to retrieve them, and as I was crouched down and kind of vulnerable, I heard a pair of rapid footsteps coming from behind me. I tensed up and immediately stood back to my feet. I so did not want a repeat of the Bratland twin incident last week. My head still throbbed because of that, I wasn't about to be caught off guard like that again.

When I stood back up, arms raised and ready to fight, my stance faltered when I saw who it was that was pursuing me.

Winter was right there, sprinting up to me in her favorite black pleated skirt and silky red blouse. Her shoes were untied as if she put them on in a hurry. Her hair was unkempt which was highly unusual for her; she always had it styled somehow whether it was in a tight bun or in a pair of twin braids framing either side of her face. But no, it was flowing freely like the wind and I had to say, I quite liked it that way.

I didn't have a chance to comment on it, for she was crashing into me. Once she reached where I stood, she jumped up and immediately wrapped her arms around my neck while roughly colliding her lips with mine. I instantly took to kissing her back and laced my hands under her thighs and eventually cupping her ass to keep her in place. She held my face in her chilly hands, keeping me close. While keeping one hand on her bum to support her, I used my other one to caress the back of her head and growl into her mouth. Her bold actions and the heated lip lock had me feeling hot and bothered, in a good way of course. I'm sure she could feel just how turned on I was at the moment.

She used her teeth to gently tug on my bottom lip before pulling away, panting. I did the same and waited patiently for her to say something.

"I trust you." was the only thing to come out of her lips. But yet, that was all the words I needed. I knew exactly what she meant. She trusted me, she trusted that I wasn't out for destruction or mayhem like so many others like me. She knew I wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her. I fucking love her.

Not even two seconds later, she was back to delving her tongue against mine, causing for me to moan and growl in pleasure. Somehow, I had a feeling we wouldn't be leaving this room for a little bit. I used my elbow to open the door back up and walked backwards toward my desk. I made sure to kick the door shut and lock it after setting her down on the wooden top. I wasted no time in getting to work in removing both of our clothes. I slipped off my vest and my shirt along with it, and wrapped my tie around my own wrist for the moment while I assisted in stripping Winter as well. Soon, she was left sitting stark naked on top of my desk and I bit my lip at the wonderful sight before me. I was left only in my jeans, my chest heaving and eyes dilated.

"Gerard-" she moaned, but then remembered what happened last time. Specifically, what happened that made me want to rip off all her clothes and have her right there; which I did. "Sir...!" she keened. Sharp bolts of lust shot through me, making my jeans feel much tighter than they really were. That little shit knew just how to get me going.

I coiled my hand around the small of her back and made her stand, but not for long. I spun her around and gently pushed down on her back so she was completely bent over for me. I then snatched both her hands and bound them together with my tie. I could hear her breathing grow heavier from where I was, and I would be lying if I said my own breath wasn't getting a little out of control.

"You're so fucking beautiful, you know...I could look at you like this all night-bent over and so-" I kissed the space in between her shoulders and ran my fingers through her hair. "...vulnerable."

She whined underneath me, I chuckled in response. I could tell she was growing needy and impatient, she craved for a release and I was, too. I was throbbing so much, it felt like I would explode any minute. With this in mind, I undid my belt and yanked my jeans and boxers down to my thighs.

"Oh god-S-Sir!" she whimpered.

"Sshhh...Patience baby, patience." I continued in my little teasing game, pressing myself right up against her but never moving forward enough to enter completely. Her arms struggled in her restraints, her legs tremble visibly. I grinned at this sight. When I first met her, I had no idea just how much she would arouse me, I had no idea her libido could ever be this high. She looks so innocent, and I suppose in a lot of ways, she was. But I knew now, more than anyone, that she was certainly no stranger to lustful desires. That was another thing I loved about her. Her looks were deceiving, but not in a bad way.

"Gerard-"

I cut her off quite abruptly by smacking her ass with the palm of my hand. She jumped with a high pitched yelp.

"That's sir to you, slut!" I growled. I then leaned down and whispered lowly into her ear, "Understand?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Yes what?" I tested.

"Yes sir!" she whined.

"Good girl." I praised. I took my sweet time in placing both my hands along her sharp hips and slowly pressing myself against her, making her whine some more. I got off on that sound along, the sound of her voice reaching that high a frequency and then slowly coming back down to a wispy moan. It was heaven for my ears.

Soon, I decided that my teasing had to come to an end, so I swiftly thrust inside of her and instantly groaned in relief when I felt her clench around me and her thighs shiver. Just like always, I started off nice and slow to sort of get her acclimated. I picked up my pace little by little, the sound of skin slapping on skin along with her brilliant moans just drove me further on. However, it didn't take long for me to notice how the sounds she was previously making were becoming muffled by her closing her mouth. I just couldn't have that. I wanted to hear her be loud, I wanted to hear her scream my name when she felt those waves of unadulterated pleasure smashing through her. That was one of the main reasons I almost didn't make a sound during times like these.

I shot a hand out and pried her lips apart. She didn't struggled against my fingers as I slipped my thumb in and pressed against her tongue. It made the sounds she made a bit louder as I basically fucked her mouth with my thumb. "So good..." I trailed off and closed my eyes while thrusting my hips forward, making the desk rattle and shake. If Winter's arms weren't tied behind her back, she would have been clutching the edge of the surface and desperately trying to keep up with my speed. For now, though, she was stuck letting me do whatever I wanted. And that was timing the movements of my thumb to synchronize with my thrusts. Soon, my other hand came up and latched onto her hair. I grabbed a handful of the jet black locks and forced her head back while I suddenly started setting a punishingly fast pace. Her body jerked forward with ever movements and my grip on her hair tightened. She cried out in absolute pleasure at this, and once again this drove me on even more. Words simply couldn't describe what I felt for this girl, or just how much I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

"So good, baby...so good."

Her teeth grazed over the pad of my thumb every so often, and I felt the softness of her tongue. I wanted so badly to taste it while I fucked her, but I also wanted to keep her in the position she was in now. I opted for that, instead and only increased my pace.

It didn't take long for her whines to increase in volume and intensity, and I instantly knew she was getting close. And to be honest, so was I. I managed to keep myself from releasing, though. She was soon convulsing around me, arching her back (or at least trying to) and shaking underneath me so hard for a moment I thought she was getting hypothermia. She finished off with the loudest moan she's produced all night and soon her neck went limp and I softened my hold on her hair as well as retract my thumb from her mouth. She was dormant for only a few seconds before my own sounds of desperation started getting louder. I slowed down, as much as I didn't want to, and reluctantly pulled out. She acted on her own, and shakily rose before then getting on her knees in front of me. I wasn't at all expecting for her to do something like this, but I certainly wasn't complaining.

She made eye contact with me for a few seconds while she slowly took me into her mouth, but then shut them closed and started pumping. I entangled my fingers back into her hair and shallowly thrust into her mouth. Sometimes I could hear her choke a bit, and I'd immediately slow down, almost stopping. It wasn't long before I was leaking and my climax was getting much closer. Pretty soon, she had me wrapped around her little finger and it was me who was trembling uncontrollably. Now I could understand slightly how she felt when I had her bent over like that, entirely susceptible to whatever I wanted to do. The way she swirled her tongue around the tip, or pressed it to the bottom had me throwing my head back and letting out submissive moans. My grip on her hair tightened once more and I just couldn't stop myself from fucking into her mouth. I didn't give a fuck how obscene or desperate I looked at this very moment. I couldn't give a shit less if I looked pathetic like this. The clamorous, pornographic moans escaping my throat nearly made my own ears start to bleed.

Her hands came up to my hips and started scratching lightly, her nails grazing over my skin and only adding to the overall pleasure she was making me feel. Oh god....I don't know how much longer I can last. I wanted to badly to release, but I also never wanted this to end.

As Winter's skilled movements of her lips and tongue continued, I started to think I didn't have a choice. My climax was right around the corner, and soon enough, I was gripping tightly onto her hair and practically roaring like a damn lion. I nearly had to keep myself from collapsing onto the floor from how hard I came. My vocal chords were sure to be screwed, maybe not as much as Winter's though, if you know what I mean.

She kept going with slower movements, drawing it out and making it so much better. After a while, I started to come down and she eventually pulled away, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. It was then I noticed my tie wasn't around her wrists anymore, and I don't remember ever taking them off her myself. She must have undone them somehow, though I tied that knot pretty tight. I didn't think she could ever undo it herself without any assistance. Maybe she used to be in the girl scouts or some shit. Whatever the case may be, I decided not to question it and instead, I helped her to her feet and then pulled my pants back up. We both spend a few moments in silence, just putting our clothes back on and occasionally sneaking flirty glances at each other. She snickered when she caught me peeking at her ass.

"What? It's a beautiful ass!" I didn't even try to hide my perverted self and instead, brought my hands down to gently stroke her bum, giving it a little pinch in the process. She yelped slightly and playfully smacked my chest as she was buttoning up her blouse.

" _Kuripu_."

"The fuck did you just call me?"

"Creep!" she repeated, this time in English. She reminded me of Mikey at this point, since he was always spitting seemingly random Japanese words and phrases, confusing the hell out of me every single time. Now she was doing it, too. Great.

"You're damn right." I replied, then brought one hand down this time to smack her behind. She jumped a bit, then glanced over her shoulder to give me a dallying eyed look.

Once I had my vest back over my torso and Winter had on her sneakers (which were now tied), I started to reach for my satchel when a question popped into my head.

"Do you really trust me?"

She stopped in the middle of her buttoning one of her blouse buttons, and then disregarded it, leaving a few millimeters of her black lace undergarment visible to me. She sauntered up to me and placed a soft peck to the bottom of my chin. She had to stand on her tip toes, seeing as how I was a foot taller than she was.

"More than anything. You've been nothing but a saint to me these past few months. I have no reason to believe you'd ever hurt me, or anyone else."

I took both my hands and coiled them around her waist for the millionth time and lifted her up a few inches off the ground, nuzzling her neck and taking in her spearmint, coffee and tobacco scent. I knew she would come around eventually. I was stupid to think that this whole charade would last for that long. I knew Winter better than that by now.

"I'd never fuckin' dream of it, sweetheart."

"I know," she smirked, and then leaned up, pulling me into another sweet kiss. This one was considerably less heated and more wholesome than anything else. I never let her back down the entire time our lips were intertwined. If I were being completely honest, I never wanted to put her down ever again. But unfortunately, I knew I had to eventually.

Why couldn't we just stay like this forever? Not have to worry about Scapegrace? Or the Maligns? Why couldn't we all just follow in the wise words of John Lennon?

Make love, not war.

If I could, I would sweep Winter right off her feet and take her along with Mikey to a place where we didn't have to worry about any of this. Where we didn't have to worry about the dangers that the Maligns posed, or the slim possibility that Scapegrace was in fact a hunter of those said creatures. But alas, we couldn't very well leave New York. For one, Winter still had her mother to think about and I knew Mikey loved it here too much. Trust me, though, if I could I would take them both away in a heartbeat, away from all of this chaos. They didn't deserve to live a life in constant fear. Though they didn't show it, I knew it was still a part of them.

Winter especially was too matured for her own good. Well, maybe matured wasn't quite the right word. Damaged is a better adjective. She was damaged to the point where she was forced to grow up and act older than she really was. Of course, she had no shortage of typical teenage moments. If I had a dollar for every time she fangirled over a celebrity she saw in a magazine or ended up about substituting an energy drink for a meal instead, I'd be as rich as Donald Trump. But those moments, as often as they may make their presence known, didn't do a good job in masking the fact that Winter really wasn't only sixteen years old at heart. If she were as old as she acted, she would be at least thirty.

Her and I spent another five minutes in this same position, me holding her in my arms and her having her arms around my neck and peppering my face with light kisses. I didn't want to, but I knew we had to get out of here soon. I didn't feet very comfortable with us being here after dark after what happened last week. I wasn't about to let some other psychopath student get to Winter this time.

"What do ya' say we go home, baby? We'll lay around all night in our pajamas and watch all your favorite Ghibli films to your hearts content."

She sighed dreamily at the thought and leaned into my chest. I chuckled and started massaging her scalp softly.

"That sounds like heaven..." she trailed off. I was never a huge fan of Ghibli films myself. It took Mikey about a year for him to convince me to sit down one day and watch  _Spirited Away_ (which made me cry like a little bitch). But Winter loved these films, she says she grew up watching them; they remind her of the simpler times of when she lived in Japan with her mom and spent a majority of her free time watching these movies. They brought her a sense of her childhood back, and for a few hours, she was twelve years old again, and she didn't have to worry about her ever growing depression and anxiety. 

I had to say, I related to this more than I cared to admit. I was the same way, only with comic books instead of cult classic anime films. One of my favorite past times growing up was coming home from school and reading Batman comic books that our mom bought for me after I spent an eternity begging her for them. Yeah, I was kind of an obnoxious little bastard. But I have a heart of gold.

"Come on then, let's go back to my place and just relax." I started. She nodded and started following me on out the door. We were both standing outside at this point, she was waiting patiently for me to lock up when I suddenly felt a stinging pain right on my ass. Winter had just spanked me. I yelped just like she did and turned around with wide eyes.

"What? I can be a fucking creep, too."


	22. Heroes

**Gerard's POV**

As somebody who constantly makes fun of his little brother for having no skills in the romance department, I didn't think I would ever go to that same asexual anime nerd for relationship advice. But I did nevertheless, and I can't say he didn't help me at all, because he did.

I had went to him about a week and a half after Winter and I fornicated in my classroom again, and confided with him about how I wanted to do something with Winter. Not like what we usually, do, which was leave every day after school, get coffee and then either I would spend the night in her room or she would come back home with me to my apartment. More often than not, it was the second option.

If I were being quite honest with myself, I was getting a little bored of doing the same thing every single day, and I'm certain Winter was as well. She's simply too shy and kind to say anything, however. But I could tell she was craving something different, something new just as much as I was. And I was planning on giving it too her. With everything that's been going on lately, to the sporadic activity of Scapegrace to being attacked by one of the Bratland twins, we both needed an escape if only for just one night. The problem was, I wasn't sure how I would do such a thing. In case anyone hasn't picked up on it already, I've never really been the dating type. Sure, I've been with a lot of women in my time, and even some men here and there. It didn't take a genius to figure out that I was well endowed in the sex department. But dating was a whole other ball game.

It was never really my thing, growing up. I didn't take many people out to dinner or a movie, but this was different. I was in a real relationship now, and my girlfriend deserved to be spoiled rotten tonight. So that is what I'm going to do.

It was a Friday evening, and I was sat cross legged on Winter's futon while she rummaged through her closet, muttering and cursing under her breath about how she had nothing fancy or sophisticated to wear. I had asked her if she was busy tonight, and when she told me she wasn't, I told her to wear something nice because I was taking her out.

When I told her this, I could already see the elation and eagerness bubbling in her hypnotizing dark brown eyes. She beamed and started searching frantically for something to wear as I had instructed. Meanwhile, I sat on her bed and listened to her complain to herself and I would occasionally remind her that it didn't have to be anything too extravagant. It didn't seem like she heard me, though, and I chuckled lowly under my breath. She was adorable when she got so flustered like this. I stood up from her bed and set down the manga book I had been mindlessly skimming over, and caught a glimpse of my appearance in her vanity mirror. Instead of being dressed in the usual white dress shirt, vest and tie, I was in a pair of sleek black trousers, a button up shirt and coat of the same color, and to top it all off, a bright red neck tie that added just that little more flair to my overall look. My hair was combed back neatly, and not in its usual unkempt state.

I decided to go over and help Winter out, since her frustration was just growing by the minute. As much as this amused me, I also felt bad since I did kind of spring this on her out of the blue.

"Don't stress yourself out, sweetheart." I cooed while gently leading her away from the closet and sitting her in the place where I was just seated at.

"I have nothing, NOTHING! I spent the majority of my childhood in the damn closet and yet I have nothing to show for it!" she groaned and fell backwards onto the mattress. I stifled a laugh at her statement and went to work in scourging through the thick onslaught of clothes she had in here. While she continued throwing insults at herself for having no fashion sense, my eyes landed upon a short sleeved, off the shoulder bright red pleated dress that was buried somewhere towards the back. I froze when I saw it, and my hands instinctively reached out to caress it. The fabric was soft under my callused fingers and I imagined her in it. I knew this was perfect for her, and I didn't know why she didn't see this and immediately realize that. Maybe she just didn't spot it, yet...

I pulled the dress out along with its hanger and held it out in front of me.

"What about this one? It'd look absolutely gorgeous on you!" I melted. She sat back up to see what I had picked out, and when she did, her body tensed dramatically. For a moment, I thought maybe I said something wrong.

"Do you not like it?" I slowly lowered the dress and laid it out on the futon next to her. "It'd look perfect on you, it's practically screaming your name."

She gently took the hem of its skirt and rubbed the fabric in between her fingers. She looked like she was in deep thought. Did she really hate it that much? Is that why she just skimmed over it?

"No, I...I love this dress, it's just..." she trailed off. I stared at her in curiosity. Winter's eyes were slightly glazed over she was completely lost in thought. This dress must have represented something more for her, something I simply couldn't understand. "I never thought I'd ever wear it again after..." she stopped herself once more. I put my hand on her shoulder and ran my thumb across her bare skin. She was in nothing but her undergarments.

"I'm-I'm sorry I didn't mean to...to bring up bad memories..."

"This was the dress I was wearing when I lost her..."

The blood drained from my face when she finished that sentence; I understood perfectly what she meant. This was what she was wearing the night she and Naomi were mugged. The night Naomi was killed. I suddenly felt as guilty as a prisoner for bringing it out even though I couldn't have known what this piece of clothing meant for her. Still, the mood was significantly dampened because of this and I wanted to rewind time and just ignore it. But I couldn't deny that it would look splendid on her perfect body...

"I'm sorry, baby, I didn't kn-"

"It's okay, Gerard. Don't apologize, there was no way you could have known..."

I pursed my lips and went to pick the dress back up and put it where it belonged, but Winter stopped me and took it from my hands.

"Well, there's no point in keeping it in there forever to collect dust. Besides...she bought this for me, it was her favorite. She'd hate it if I just let it go to waste."

With that, she took the dress out of my hands and slipped the hanger off from it. I smiled at her and watched as she slid it over her head and adjusted the waistline, then flattened out the skirt. I was right, she looked like a fucking goddess in that thing, and not to mention it matched perfectly with my outfit. I looked like Billie Joe freaking Armstrong, but I had to admit, I looked damn good. But she...she looked stunning.

Words simply couldn't describe how lucky I felt to be able to call her my lover.

Winter then stood up and grabbed a pair of black stilettos, lacing them to her feet. When she was finished, she turned to me and I got to see her beautiful, painted up face. She had light red lip gloss over her lips and dark eye liner lining her eyes. Her lashes were long and luscious, giving her an almost doll like appearance. I grabbed her by the waist and pressed a kiss to her forehead. I wanted to kiss her lips, but I knew she would get irritated with me for ruining her make up.

"Prettiest little thing I've ever fuckin' seen..." I mumbled into her ear. I felt her shiver in my arms.

"I could say the same to you, pulchritudinous devil~"

"Why thank you, Sugar!" I nipped at her ear and snatched her up, holding her bridal style. I only set her down when we were back outside. Our hands were still connected together, our fingers making love to each other.

"So where are we headed?"

"You'll see, baby."

\-----

I led Winter all the way to one of the more fancier restaurants of New York City called Asiate. We weren't even inside yet, and she had her head tilted back, jaw slack and eyes wide. She was mesmerized by this building alone; I was excited to see what her reaction would be when we actually went inside.

"Gerard-" she began to say, but I grabbed her hand and led her in through the glass double doors. I held one open for her and she thanked me under her breath while simultaneously gawking at the massive place before her.

"You like it, sweetie?" I asked, amused. She nodded weakly and let me take her all the way to the front where I told the lady at the podium I had two reservations for us. She grabbed two menu's and we followed her all the way to our table. She told us our waiter would be with us shortly, and then left with a smile. I thanked her and turned my attention to the awestruck woman in front of me.

"I was hoping to do something different tonight, since all we do is get coffee and walk home. you deserve so much more than that."

It took her a moment to reply, for she was busy looking over at the sophisticated engravings on the walls and the decorations that looked as if they belonged in an art museum. But when she did, her voice was shaky and astounded. "Gee, you didn't have to do all of this-"

"Of course I did," I cut her off. "You are my world, and you deserve nothing less than perfection."

She wrenched her gaze off of the decorations surrounding us and locked eyes with me. Brown met light hazel and a smile began to creep up onto her lips. "This place is beautiful, I never imagined myself ever coming here."

I reached over the table top and wrapped her hand in mine once more. "We both needed a break from the craziness of New York. You know, with Scape running around and all that..." she tensed at my mention of the infamous criminal, so I quickly moved on and changed the subject. "Tonight is all about you and me, darling. Right now, nothing else matters-" I leaned forward, my lips hover just a millimeter over hers. "-except for us."

Things went silent for a moment as we both stared at each other's lips, slowly moving forward and pressing them together. Winter didn't seem to care that I was smudging her lip gloss off, and I could taste it on my tongue; it tasted like strawberries. She was supporting herself on her forearms while I was practically kneeling in my seat, my fingers lightly tracing patterns into her cheek. I completely ignored the subtle aching in my legs from being in a position of half sitting, half standing up. I didn't give a fuck about that, all I cared about was tasting her sweet caverns.

The lip lock went on for longer than I think either of us expected it to, but we certainly weren't complaining. If I could, I would have us stay like this all night long. Every single time I pulled away from her, I felt empty inside. It was like she was the life force keeping me alive. Both of us were cold people, but our coldness cancelled each other out and every time I had her in my arms, I felt warm. I couldn't think of any other way to describe it. I fucking loved her.

My arm reached up to cup her cheek and deepen the kiss once more, her hair tickling my face and her eye lashes gingerly grazing my skin. Her head tilted back a bit, allowing me more access and for a moment I forgot we were in a public restaurant and I had to stop myself from taking her right on top of this table.

I was snapped out of my filthy thoughts by someone clearing their throat right next to us. Both of us recoiled unexpectedly and saw a man in the restaurant uniform with light brown hair parted with a slight fringe. The name on his tag read Bob, and he chuckled down at us. Winter and I'd cheeks burned bright red at being caught like this and I laughed nervously.

"S-Sorry about that...!" I scratched the back of my neck.

"No worries, sir. My name is Bob, and I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you two lovebirds off with some drinks?" he said politely.

"Uh, I-I'll have a p-peach and lime daiquiri...please." I stuttered. Bob then turned to Winter and she stumbled over her words while wiping away the rest of her lip gloss off with a red cloth napkin.

"C-Can I get a vodka martini, please?"

"Of course! I'll get those right out to you two." he chimed happily before walking off to retrieve our orders. I looked at Winter quizzically.

"A vodka martini?"

"What? They're good!" she defended. I chuckled.

"You're such an Emily Gilmore."

Suddenly, I felt something press up against my crotch from under the table cloth and I froze.

"Watch it, Way." she warned, and then whatever it was that was pressed against me lurched forward slightly and I yelped, despite that it didn't hurt. It was then that I realized that Winter had the heel of her stiletto up on the seat, ready to penetrate the most sensitive area of my body. I knew she wouldn't actually did something like that, she was a tease just like me, but it still set me on edge. She soon retracted her foot and gave me a testy smirk. Oh that little she-wolf. I was starting to rub off on her, I could tell. In no time, I'll have her styling her hair with glitter and wearing skeleton onesies for fun.

"Note taken," I chuckled. Soon, Bob came back out with our drinks in hands and after he left again, we started pondering over what we should order. She clicked her tongue a few times and bobbed her head along to a beat she was playing in her mind. I secretly stared at her from over the top of the menu with wide eyes. After a few minutes, she finally noticed and gave me the same exact look.

Ever so slowly, I lowered the menu to reveal my mouth was twisted up into a wide, maniacal grin and she started laughing uncontrollably into her hand. I kept the same expression on my face until she had her face buried in her hands and she her back was trembling with silent laughter. It took all of my willpower not to burst out laughing as well, but I eventually caved and started giggling like a little girl.

"You're such a dork!" she managed to say after recovering from her fit of giggles.

"I'm your dork."

"Damn straight." I then decided to be the bold one here, and lift my leg up just like she did to me not too long ago. My foot came up to rest in between her legs and she froze from sipping her martini. In all honesty, I'm surprised the waiter didn't ask for her ID, but maybe that's because she looked older than sixteen, tonight. That's besides the point, however.

"You little shit." she teased.

"I know." I winked.

With my leg still pressed right up against her, Bob, the waiter came back to take our orders. Winter's face was bright red and I could tell talking would be a feat for her at this moment. I ordered first, and when she went to speak, I pressed my foot harder against her and she squeaked.

"Are you alright, miss?"

"Y-Yes! I'm just fine!"

I smirked.

Before the waiter had a chance to question her further, she told him her order, adding a please with every other word and sipping awkwardly from her glass. The waiter just offered her a kind smile and told us he would have our orders out shortly. When he was out of our line of sight, she shot me a deadly glare.

"You're evil."

"Says the one who threatened to castrate me with her heel less than five minutes ago."

"Touche."

After that little exchange, we both drank from our cocktails simultaneously and gave each other knowing looks. I don't think it's possible for us to ever get bored with each other. Even if we've been together for centuries upon centuries. Only we would act like fools in a high end restaurant like this.

About a half hour later, Winter and I were pretty much finished with our meals and the Bob the waiter had brought us our check. We both reached for it at the same time, and she eyed me dangerously.

"I got it, Gee."

"Um, I don't think so. Tonight is on me, sweetheart."

"You do so much for me already, Gerard. Let me pay."

Suddenly, without warning, I went bud eyed and let out a sharp gasp. "What is that!?"

Winter turned around in her seat, and while she was distracted, I took the opportunity to grab the check from off the table and pay for it myself. When she turned back around, realizing there was nothing of interest, she lightly kicked at my shin, not enough to hurt though. She was about to chastise me pulling a stunt like that when I caught a glimpse of someone familiar from across the room. This time, my bug eyed look was genuine.

Sitting in his chair across from who I assumed was his husband, was Mr. Dun. The history teacher who's classroom was right across the hall from mine. I suddenly dug my hand into my pocket, pull out a few hundred dollar bills and threw them on the table before jumping up from my seat, snatching Winter's arm while I did so. She yelped in surprise, but I shushed her quickly.

"Gerard, what's-"

I roughly clamped my hand down on her mouth cutting her off, and practically carried her on out the door. Dear god, I hoped Mr. Dun and his weird ukulele wielding husband hadn't spotted us. If they did, we would be royally fucked.

It wasn't until we were a few meters away from the entrance did I release Winter from my grasp. She gave me a fearful, wide eyed look and glanced over her shoulder. "Is everything okay? What the hell was that!?"

"There was a teacher I knew in there and we had to get out of there quick." I explained.

"Oh." she replied casually. My chest was still heaving from that experience. I'm just glad we didn't get caught, because not only could I lose my job, but Winter could get into some serious trouble as well.

Eventually my heart rate went down and the feeling of Winter's cold skin against mine calmed me enough to where I could think clearly again. That was quite the rush, to say the least.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm not okay." I laughed and held my hand over the place where my heart was. She giggled up at me and my misery and I playfully glared at her. It was then I realized that she didn't have a coat with her, and it was nearing nine at night. Hell, I was starting to get chilly and I had one already. With this in mind, I slid the large black jacket off my shoulders and offered it to her. She stared at it blankly for a moment, and shook her head.

"I'm good."

"It's freezing out here, sweetie. Take it."

"I'm really okay." she insisted. I wasn't having it, though, and I knew she wouldn't take it on her own. I decided to be a little devious; I draped the jacket over her shoulder and then lifted her off the ground by the waist, her back pressed against my chest and she kicked her legs slightly in surprise.

"Gee!" she squealed. My arms combined with my coat almost acted as a strait jacket and she was rendered unable to escape. I laughed evilly while she squealed and giggled hysterically. I didn't let her down until she agreed to take the coat and even then, I was tempted to just throw her over my shoulder and continued walking like that.

"So what's next, are we headed home?" she asked curiously. I scoffed, giving her an incredulous look.

"Of course not!"

The next thing she knew, she was being whisked off her feet once again, being held in my arms as I sprinted at full speed down the sidewalk.

"COME ROBIN, TO THE BATMOBILE!" I screamed, earning us some pretty odd looks from people passing by, though neither of us gave a damn. I ran like this with her chortling at my antics, and me sometimes screaming at other civilians to get out of the way or else they would explode. I don't know what came through me, but I suddenly got very hyper-more than usual. Not that I was complaining.

I took her all the way to a hotel, one just as elegant as the restaurant we had just come from and once again, Winter was left completely awestruck. I chuckled at her reaction and finally set her down once I got to the front desk. I had booked us a room a few days ago, knowing that we would want a place to ourselves for a while. We couldn't go back to her place, because her mother might be there to hear us, and I certainly didn't feel like forcing Mikey to listen to me having sex all night long.

I retrieved our keys and once again I lifted her off her feet and made my way up the stairs.

"You know I can walk, Gerard."

"Not after I'm finished with you."

From up over my shoulder, she reached down and pinched my ass. "Ow!"

"Save the dirty talk for later, you filthy animal."

"Ooh, kitty's got claws!"

This time, it wasn't just a pinch. She used her whole hand to spank me and I couldn't help but jump again. Man, she really had a hard smack.

We reached our hotel room somewhere on the third floor and I plopped her down on the bed, crawling over her with her legs on either side of my waist. I immediately went to attack her neck and she moaned on the spot.

"I figured you'd prefer a bed this time around, that desk can't be good for your back."

She only responded by flipping me over and straddling me, going for my belt buckle while tangling her tongue with mine. We spent the next few hours intertwined with one another, gasps and moans filling every crevice of this room. I had to say, it was so much better this time because there was no rush. We didn't have anywhere else to be, we didn't have to worry about getting caught red handed in our lustful acts. We didn't have to hurry at all. We took our sweet time, and god, was it worth it. Making love to her over and over, hearing her exquisite whimpers and moans drove me even harder and we were both thoroughly exhausted by the time we were done. Her body was painted with red and purple hickeys and bite marks, I could feel scratches running all down my back from her long nails. I lost count of how many times she screamed my name or how many times we pulled each others hair. At one point, I had her sat on the desk on the other side while one of her legs was draped around my shoulder and my mouth working at her most sensitive bundle of nerves. She tasted amazing, and she sounded amazing. Especially when she reached her climax and her voice called out my name in stuttering, trembling sound waves.

There was nothing more beautiful in the world than hearing her in this much of a vulnerable, wanton state. Having her clutching onto me, nails burrowing into my skin while I had my own fists tangled in her hair. The sensation of her shaking underneath me while she whined in desperation was like none other. No other woman I had ever been with turned me on this much. No other woman I had ever been with was this good. I cursed myself for not finding her earlier. She is exactly what I need in my life. Nothing else mattered because this divine enchantress took all my troubles and woes, and reduced them to nothing but ashes. They may return to me later, but when I was with her, they were nothing more than distant thoughts. I could only hope that I had the same effect on her, or at least a similar one. I knew that Naomi Dawson would always have the throne in her heart, that was something that would never change. But I was here, now. And I wanted to make everything better. I wanted to be hers, and I wanted for her to be mine.

By the time we were finished, we were left a panting mess on the bed; covers messy and disheveled and our bodies decorated in many love marks. Our clothes were discarded all across the room. It would be a bit of a pain to relocate them all in the morning, but for now that didn't matter. I turned my head to see her with her eyes closed and breath heavy. Strands of hair stuck to her perfect face and I had a perfect view of her breasts and her chest heaving up and down. I grinned. What did I do to deserve someone this amazing?

I slipped my hands underneath her and flipped her, so she was now laying on top of me, our chests pressed together. This felt so right.

She leaned down to kiss me softly. I kissed back with my hands stroking her back and shoulder blades. When she pulled away, I simply couldn't help myself from saying what I said weeks earlier. But this time, I wasn't afraid. I wasn't ashamed. I wasn't at all nervous. I knew this was right.

"I love you."

She looked straight into my eyes and didn't say anything for a moment. She wasn't tense, though. In fact, she felt more relaxed than ever. I ran my fingers through her hair, not expecting for her to say it back.

"I know it may be too soon to say something like this, and I don't expect for you to say it back if you don't want to. I know it's a scary thing to say to someone. Especially for you. I know you can't be over Naomi just yet and you probably never will be. I know I wouldn't. But just know, I love you. I love so fucking much and I hope you never forget that. No matter what happens, you'll always be my sweetheart."

"Gerard-"

"I don't ever want to make you feel uncomfortable, or that you have to say it back right now. Because you don't. Hell, you don't ever have to say it at all. But just now, that's how I feel."

"Gerard." she placed her finger on my lips, successfully getting me to shut up. "I love you, too."

A sudden burst of elation went off in my chest. My lips pulled into the brightest beam I've ever given and I flipped us over so I was on top of her once again. After exchanging another heartfelt "I love you" to each other, I hiked her leg up over my shoulder and we went in for yet another round of passionate love making. This one felt so much more intimate after what we just admitted to each other, and therefore so much better. It was more intimate, more intense, more exhilarating. I wanted to spend the rest of my life in that hotel with her.

After that final round, we ended up hanging out in nothing but our underwear and I ordered us some champagne. I didn't necessarily condone her drinking at this young of an age, but I wasn't her father and tonight, I think we both deserved it. After everything that's happened over the past few months, I think we needed this. A lot.

We cheered and clinked our glasses before downing our champagne in a matter of seconds. The carbonated beverage burned my throat and I grimaced slightly.

"Tonight was wonderful, Gee." she cooed, snaking her arms around me and leaning her head into the crook of my neck. Her hair tickled my bare skin and I nuzzled back into her. I wasn't lying when I said that this was the best night that I've had in many years. I hoped that she could say the same thing.

We drank a few bottles of champagne and danced together for hours upon hours that night. We played our favorite songs, anything from Bowie to The Beatles to Florence and the Machine. When Bowie's  _Heroes_ started blasting through my phone's speakers, Winter's eyes lit up like bright Christmas lights and she promptly shot up from her spot on the bed and started dancing, letting the instrumentals and David's stunning voice guide her in her movements. It was like she was taking control of her, and she let it happen. She welcomed it. Her arms swam around her, her eyes shut lightly and she was dancing right in front of me, giving me a show. I wanted to join her as it seemed she was having the time of her life. But at the same time, the skilled maneuvers of her limbs and of her torso kept me nails in place and I could do nothing but sit there in a trance. Her eyes opened about halfway through the track and took to staring at me. They read desire, and she was giving me a coy look. 

She danced over to me while I sat at the edge of the bed. Her hands crept up my thighs as she crouched low, her head being level with my hips. She soon lifted herself back up again and came to straddle me, arms going over my shoulder. I gripped her waist and leaned up, wanting her to kiss me. She took fistfuls of my hair, making my head tilt back and I let her take control for the time being.

We stayed like this until I fell over, her legs on either side of me. We never wanted this night to end, and we tried to keep it from happening by refusing to go to sleep. The hours ticked by, our intense lip locks and rounds of intimate love making grew more intense each time. I don't think I have to go into great detail again in regards to what we did, tonight. So I won't.

We did eventually let sleep take us over. We tried to fight it, but it overpowered us pretty quickly and we found ourselves tangled with each other under the sheets. For the first time in a very, very long time, I fell asleep with a smile graced across my face. Despite all that was wrong at the moment, this wasn't. This was right. This was so right. Once again, I know I haven't known this woman for my entire life and there was always the possibility of us not working out. As much as I didn't want to think about that, though I was certain that was an issue we wouldn't ever have to deal with. We were like two puzzle pieces finding each other for the first time.

Despite all of this, I was...dare I say...happy.


	23. Shampain

**Winter's POV**

I woke up this morning to the sensation of someone taking a sledgehammer and bashing in the inner walls of my skull until there was nothing left. Needless to say, this morning was absolute hell. I began to think that maybe I shouldn't have drank that much while on our date last night. I cursed myself, I was never the best at knowing my limits. It's been the reason why Naomi has had to play nurse many times before after I got wasted and did something stupid. Actually, now that I think about it the last time that something like this happened was a little over a year ago, and I was with Naomi. After that, the most I drank was a few glasses of wine ever other night to help loosen myself up and get the creative juices flowing.

I suddenly remembered why I avoided drinking that much.

I must have had at least a bottle and a half of champagne, plus that vodka martini I order at that restaurant. Both of those put together made for one hell of a hangover. I flickered my eyes open for maybe a second at the most and then immediately shut them again, groaning miserably. The other side of the bed felt cold, meaning Gerard had gotten up already. I was about to weakly call out his name when I felt someone, presumably Gerard himself, petting my hair sweetly and humming a soft tune.

"Someone not feeling that great?" he teased. I furrowed my eyebrows and grumbled out a 'fuck you'. He scoffed in response.

"No need to be so angry, Sugar." I opened my eyes again, this time keeping them like that, and saw him holding a water bottle and a few pain meds in his hand. I felt relieved at the sight of them alone, and managed to sit myself up with his assistance. The comforter fell from my shoulders, revealing me to still be half naked from last night.

Last night. Oh last night had been pretty eventful to say the least. From nearly getting caught by one of Gerard's coworkers to fucking each other senselessly for hours upon hours on end, to me giving him a lap dance to David Bowie, I had to say it was a Friday evening well spent. If I were being quite honest with myself, I felt the same way I did when I was with Naomi. I never thought another human-er-demon I guess, could ever make me feel that way again, but alas here we are. And I have been proven wrong.

Gerard handed me the two pain meds as well as the water bottle, urging me to drink. I obeyed silently until nearly the entire thing was gone and he pet my hair again. I leaned into his touch and sighed. Despite my still throbbing headache, and the nausea poking at my stomach, I felt pretty content with my current situation. Gerard was an angel, even if he was a creature born of hell. I couldn't be any luckier to have him in my life.

He spent the next hour or so lightly massaging my scalp and humming tunes to me that did a good job of relaxing me overall. He basically spent the whole morning taking care of me in my pitiful state. I'm surprised be didn't get irritated with me in the slightest, since I did throw rude insults at him quite often. But to be fair, they were well deserved. He teased me quite a bit, and I would usually retort my raising up my middle finger to him, proudly. If my head didn't feel as if it were about to explode, I'm certain we would have gone in for another round of fucking. But I was simply too exhausted for it, and I'm sure he was, too.

We left the hotel later towards midday when my hangover had subsided for the most part and headed towards his apartment where Mikey would be waiting. I would stop by my own home to maybe check in with Okaasan or something, but no doubt she's stuck at the paper at this time of day, so there would be no point to it anyhow. I shook the thoughts of my neglectful mother out of my mind for the time being as this was something to pine over for another time.

I followed Gerard inside where we saw Mikey sitting cross legged on the counter like he usually does with a copy of the first volume of  _Blood Lad_ held up to his face while a cup of coffee sat dormant right next to him. I giggled as he was still in his boxers and an old band tee. Once he noticed our presence, he set the manga down on the counter and offered us a warm smile, something that almost didn't fit him and his usually stoic face. I swear, that man could be seething on the inside and no one would have a clue because of that damn poker face. 

"Good morning you mad animals." he greeted.

"Morning, you fuckin' weeb." Gerard greeted back with just as much affection laced into his voice. They exchanged a quick hug before Mikey hopped off the counter and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"How bad was he?"

"MIKEY!" Gerard spun on his heel to give his brother a death glare. I stifled a laugh and leaned my head onto his chest. Of course one of the first things he would do after we got back would be to embarrass the crap out of him. These two men were the source my entertainment more often than not, nowadays. Their constant bickering back and forth like prepubescent boys have gotten me to die of laughter on more than one occasion. I wonder if their relationship had always been like this.

Gerard disappeared off into the bathroom to take a shower, after offering me to join him. To which I declined. As tempting as the offer may have been, I don't think Mikey would be too comfortable in the fact that his brother was fucking someone in their bathroom and he'd have to sit here awkwardly, knowing exactly what would be going on between us.

I opted to stay out here with him instead, and maybe get him up to date on the latest anime or manga that has come out this year, or is about to come out. I heard the faint sound the water running in the distance as we conversed with one another. He told me about how he just recently started watching  _Shingeki no Kyojin._ I grimaced as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Ew." I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"What do you mean 'ew'!?" he retorted.

"I mean, ew! You watch that shit!?"

"It's good shit!"

"Like hell it is! The main character's a lil' bitch!" I nearly yelled. I turned my head when I heard Gerard shout from in the shower.

"Just like you Mikey!"

"Fuck off, Gee! This has got nothing to do with you!" he shouted back. I chuckled and joined him on top of the counter. He offered me the rest of his coffee and I took it gratefully. It wasn't fresh, that much I could tell. But coffee is coffee, and coffee is fucking good so who was I to complain? I finished in a matter of seconds and returned to our debate on whether or not Attack on Titan should be considered a good anime.

In the end, we just agreed to disagreed, we both know there was no changing each others minds. He still thought it would grow up to be a cult classic in a decade's worth of time, and I still firmly believe it's no better than Whoruto-sorry, I mean Naruto.

We soon moved on from the topic of anime and manga when he asked me to tell him about our date last night. I smiled at the thought, and started from the beginning. I told him about how he took me to one of the most high end places to eat, and about how we were basically caught making out by the waiter-which was kind of embarrassing might I add. Oh, and let's also not forget about how we were almost spotted by Mr. Dun, the history teacher across the hall from Gerard who was known for having the weirdest husband anyone's ever come across. There were rumors going around that he was born in an insane asylum. I didn't know about that, but I had to admit, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

I left out the gritty details of what went down between us when we reached the hotel and instead, told him that it was definitely an eventful evening to say the least. He nodded with my every word and occasionally interjected with a jab at his brother or a teasing remark about us being unable to go five minutes without tearing each other's clothes off.

He wasn't exactly wrong.

"Sounds like you two had fun last night," he wiggled his eyebrows. I didn't even have to tell him or even subtly hint at the fact that so much more happened at the hotel than I led on yet he still fucking knew. That cheeky little shit.

"Oh we did." I mumbled more so to myself than to anyone else. Gerard soon emerged from the bathroom with his hair dripping water down his back and a towel loosely wrapped around his waist. It didn't cover much, needless to say. I had a perfect view of his sharp hips and the way his v-line continued down past the hem of the towel. His body wasn't super muscular or anything, and had a little chub to it; which I absolutely adored, but he was still toned and far from unattractive if I do say so myself. He grinned shamelessly at me from the other side of the room and beckoned me toward him with his index finger. I glanced back at Mikey who gave me a knowing look. He knew exactly what Gerard had planned in that head of his, and he slightly motioned with his head for me to go over to him.

I bit my bottom lip and cautiously stepped forward just as Gerard silently commanded. When I reached to where he stood, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his still dripping chest. The water on his body soaked through my shirt, but I didn't mind. He led me all the way to his bedroom, giving me hungry, lust filled eyes. Just before the door shut behind us, we heard Mikey call out in a defensive voice.

"YOU BETTER NOT DEFILE THAT SWEET GIRL!!"

Gerard gave a knowing smirk in his direction as if he could see him from all the way in here.

"TOO LATE!" he yelled back. My face was burning red all through their bickering and I shook my head, burying my face into the palm of my hand. These boys argued over the weirdest of things, sometimes I couldn't even be embarrassed when their arguments had anything to do with me, and/or about Gerard and I's sex life. Other times, I was embarrassed for them. I'm sure any other girl he would have brought home wouldn't be able to handle their juvenile antics.

"What d'ya say we make him jealous, huh?" he suggested in a devious tone.

"I-I don't think we should make him listen to that sort of thing..." I let out a small giggle at the end of of sentence. He couldn't seriously be suggested we fuck and make him hear it. I know if I were in his position, I'd be wearing earplugs already. That or gouge my eardrums out with knives.

"Listen to what?" he tilted his head to the side in a mock innocent fashion. I froze, and did the same, but this time in confusion.

"Well-I...I just-"

"Make him listen to all the sounds you and I will make, when I do this..." he put his hand on my waist again, his fingers burrowing under my shirt and pressing onto my bare, cold skin. I shivered at the thought of what he was about to say.

"G-Gee-"

"Or this..."

He started doing the same thing with his other hand, again, going under my shirt nearly tearing it off in the process. My breath hitched. The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut through it with an ax. I knew we shouldn't, especially with Mikey standing out there not even fifteen feet away. We shouldn't make him hear what he wanted to do, but at the same time, he made it so difficult for me to say no. Not that I ever wanted to, god, I didn't ever want to say no. But at the same time...

"Gerard...Ngh...!" I whimpered as he started running his hands further up my body, going under my bra and over my breasts... "W-We sh-shouldn't..."

"Shouldn't what? Shouldn't do this?"

I squealed suddenly when the sensation changed entirely and he started running his fingers across my waist again, tickling me with no mercy. I screamed, and my scream ended in a series of laughs. He lifted me up and threw me onto his bed, never ceasing in his attack.

"Gerard! You-you dick! Hahaha!!"

\-----

I returned home later that night about a half hour before Okaasan would be back. When she came through the door, I still had my boots on but I was in a pair of pajama shorts and a black hoodie. She gave me a quick once over and quirked an arched eyebrow. I zipped up my jacket and grabbed my apartment key off the kitchen counter.

"Going somewhere?" she inquired, not in a testing way though. She was just curious. I nodded.

"I figured I'd pay Naomi a little visit before I went to bed for the night." I replied. She was standing in front of the coffee pot at this point and as soon as my deceased lovers name escaped my lips, I saw Okaasan freeze in her tracks. Her shoulders tensed and her hands were stuck hovering over the counter. We stood there in uncomfortable silence until she slowly turned to face me with downcast dark brown eyes.

"Wha...would you, would you like for me to come with you?" she offered tentatively. I shook my head slowly.

"No, that's okay. I know you're busy." was all I said before I disappeared on out the door, not giving her a chance to response. In all honesty I didn't really want to hear what she had to say. My chest felt heavy and I was afraid if I stayed any longer, I would have had a mental breakdown and started crying right in front of her.

I shouldn't be embarrassed to cry in front of my own mother, but at this point, she didn't feel like my mom. She almost felt like just some random lady that I was roommates with. I didn't want her to see me in such a pathetic and vulnerable state. I get humiliated when I cry even when I'm all by myself.

I made it to Naomi's tombstone in a few minutes, my legs shivered from the chilly wind but I ignored it and trudged on anyway. I sat on my knees once I saw her name engraved into the gray stone material. For a while, it was the same as it had been for the past year. I was silent, never saying a word. But an hour passed of this unbearable silence and I began to speak for the first time in a very, very long time. I had so much to say now that there was something interesting going on in my life. She would want to know about it, I'm certain.

"I...I met someone." I began. I chose my words carefully, not wanting to upset her. Although, I wasn't sure what I was thinking. She's dead. She can't get upset. Even so, I still felt her presence near me. "H-his name is Gerard...he treats me well." I continued. "He treats me amazing, actually. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of you. I think that's one of the biggest reasons that I'm attracted to him. Don't take that the wrong way, please. He's not meant to replace you, no one could ever replace you. Please don't forget that...

"My intention isn't to fill your place with someone else, and he knows that. In fact, he's pretty sensitive towards me about...about you. He-he knows what happened, sort of...I didn't tell him the full truth; he doesn't need to know that. But he knows that I lost someone who meant the world to me, and he knows that no matter what, you will always have the throne in my heart. I love you...I miss you, Ni."

The longer I spoke, the harder it became to hold back the tears pricking behind my eyelids. I still didn't want to let myself cry despite that there was no one around to witness it. I was the only one in this cemetery at the moment. I had nothing to be ashamed, yet I still was.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

Why couldn't I just be normal?

"Naomi, I-I have something to ask you..." I trailed off. Once again I didn't understand why I was even talking like this, I know I won't receive an answer from her. But I still felt compelled to ask this... "Would you...would you be upset if I moved on? If I gave myself over to someone else?"

I paused, straining my ears for something-anything that could be a sign of her answer. The only thing I got was the wind whistling through my hair. I didn't know what it meant, if it meant anything at all. It was like that one scene from  _How I Met Your Mother_ where the girl asked her dead boyfriend's permission to say yes to someone else asking her to marry her. The wind blew right into her, and she took that as a yes. But I don't know if I should take this as anything at all. 

My mind strayed off onto a different path and began thinking of Gerard, and how heavenly he's been to me for these past few months. Even in the beginning when he didn't even know my name he treated me better than anyone has since Naomi was killed. Before then, the only thing I knew was the neglect of Okaasan and the constant harassment from Aaron and Ronnie. Now, Ronnie was gone. I didn't have to worry about him anymore and Aaron never came to school anymore. I don't know what his deal is, and if I'm being quite honest I don't care. As long as he is nowhere near my proximity, then I'm happy.

Not only has Gerard treated me with the respect I never thought I deserved, but he's nearly having the same effect on me that Naomi did. She slowly got rid of, or severely incapacitated my crippling insecurities to the point where it felt like they were never there in the first place. As I've said before, that blue eyed beauty taught me how to be happy, really happy. And now, Gerard was starting to do the same. Of course, he'll never truly be Naomi. That much was painfully obvious. But maybe, just maybe, I can let go of my pining for her and let myself love someone else. I can finally move on. I can finally be free.

 "I think I'm in love with him."

In that moment, a giant weight had been lifted off my chest. A weight that had been keeping me down for the past fourteen months, never letting me up. Never letting me heal. A tsunami was zen and clarity submerged my entire being and I leaned backwards, falling onto my back and letting a small smile grace my lips. Leftover leaves from autumn were probably getting tangled up in my hair and the grass scratched at the back of my thighs and calves. But none of that mattered because the amount of peace making its way into my mind outnumbered it by infinity. I haven't felt this good in so long, I never wanted it to stop.

I imagined her laying right next to me in the grass with the same smile decorating her perfectly sculpted face. I gazed over to my side and imagined her looking right back at me with those sparkling ocean eyes. I swear, I could look into them all day long; hypnotized by their beauty. I got lost in them even when she wasn't here, that's how mesmerizing they truly were...

If she really were laying right next to me, she would have reached over and grabbed my hand into hers and clutched it tightly for dear life. That was something she always loved to do whenever we got the chance. Even on a hot summer's day when we were out in the middle of Time Square, sweat dripping down our faces, she always insisted on holding my hand. It was like if she didn't hold it, she would somehow die.

I never complained. I loved it just as much as she did.

It suddenly dawned on me that Gerard and I's date last night was very similar to one we went on before she was ruthlessly murdered. Right in front of me. The only difference was, the date with Naomi ended with a tragedy. It felt quite Shakespearean. The date with Gerard was amazing in every way possible. Just thinking about it made me smile like a madwoman.

I felt as if she really were here. I swear, I can really see her laying beside me. I can hear her soft voice speaking to me--no. Humming. She's humming the same song I sang down at her as she died in my arms.

_"Cigarette day dream...you were only seventeen..."_

Her fingers ran through my hair, sending tingles everywhere she touched. They traveled down from my temple, to my arms, then down my spine. Every one of my cells felt electrified somehow, just like they did when she was still alive and with me. She continued singing and I continued to listen. She may not have the best singing voice, in fact she always preferred it when I sang to her instead of vice versa. But sometimes, if I was lucky, she would fulfill my request to hear her and I'd fall asleep content and satisfied.

My eyelids grew heavy and I let myself succumb to the sleep creeping up on me. I totally disregarded the fact that I was in a graveyard, or that I was barely or dressed or that it felt like Antarctica out here. Her voice did wonders in making me forget all about that and I stayed in that same position. Arms splayed out on either side of myself, jacket sleeves having been ridden up my arms slightly letting my old faded scars out for the ghosts to see. But I didn't care. Not one bit.

My breath slowed. My heart rate went down. Her singing never stopped, even as I was completely drowning in sleep. I've never felt so peaceful  as I did at this moment. I never wanted it to end. But I knew it had to, eventually. I would have to get up, I would have to go home, I would have to spend the night alone in a bed that was rarely ever used nowadays for I almost never fell asleep in it. I always ended up dozing off while sat at my desk or leaned up against my kitchen counter. It was a true rarity when I got a good nights sleep. Although, now that Gerard Way has come into my life and restored the peace I'd been longing to attain for so long, those rare nights of a full seven or eight hours of slumbering  were starting to become more common.

I woke up again, still in the same spot and position as before. I looked over to where Naomi had been laying, but she wasn't there and it was then I realized it was a dream. My heart sank a little bit. But...it had felt so real. Her hands were real, they were really running though my hair. Her voice could clearly be made out. through the howling wind.

But it wasn't real.

 I frowned at this realization and slowly came to a sitting position. Pulling out my flip phone from my jacket pocket, I opened it and glanced at the time. I'd been asleep for about an hour. I came here around eight, it was now eight-fifty three. It didn't feel like I was out for that long, if I didn't know any better I'd say it was only two--five minutes at the most. But when you're asleep, it's like your brain just can't process time correctly. Or more accurately, time doesn't exist at all. You could be out for hours and it would only feel like seconds. Or alternatively, you could only be out for a few minutes and you'd wake up feeling like you're in a whole other year.

Everything still felt like a dream; my mind felt hazy and everything was clouded in a fantasy. Even as I got up and started slowly trudging my way back home, all the city lights around me and the passing of civilians--it all felt so dreamlike. I wondered for a brief moment if I was still sleeping. I couldn't be, though. Because when it started sprinkling with rain, I really felt it coming onto my skin. But then again, Naomi's touch felt the same way; just as real. But wasn't. So maybe I was still dreaming.

I don't think I would mind if it was still a dream. If it was, I'd say it was one of the most pleasant ones I've had in a long while. I was perfectly okay with it being like this forever. In a lot of ways, I wish that's how it could be. Living in the land of dreams....I don't think I'd ever leave.


	24. Happy

**Gerard's POV**

December 24th was in about a week and a half, and as it turns out, that was the same day that Winter was born. Of course, me being me, I couldn't ignore this. I knew I had to do something for her, but the problem was: I didn't know what I should do. I was in one of those situations where I had so many ideas swarming around in my head, but there were so many ideas that it felt like I had none. What the fuck was I supposed to do? What was I supposed to get for her?

I knew that this might have been pointless, but I went to Mikey for this advice one morning before heading off to work. He was getting ready to head off to work as well; he worked a half time job at Zia's Records. He was clad in a pair of black skinny jeans and his favorite black pea coat. A gray beanie kept his wild brown hair down at bay and his black rectangular glasses were perched on his sharp, pointed nose. He was pouring us both a cup of coffee and he handed me one as soon as I walked into the kitchen.

"Morning."

"Morning lil' dude." I greeted back. He frowned slightly at the nickname and commented in a slightly annoyed tonality.

"I'm one inch taller than you."

"Shut it, you fuckin' weeb. I'm still older."

"Whatever." he rolled his eyes and sipped quietly from his mug. I did the same before setting it back down and looking up at him with a more serious face. He noticed immediately, nearly freezing in his spot. I almost chuckled at his instantaneous reaction. "What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath, readying myself for the disappointment already. I was horrible when it came to gift giving, so I wasn't sure why I expected for him to be any better. One year, I gave him a bathroom kit for Christmas and I could just see the befuddlement on his face when he opened it. It definitely wasn't the kind of thing you gift to your little brother for the holidays. It didn't say the message I wanted it to say. It was like, "Merry Christmas! Now go take a shower because you really fucking smell like a rotting pig locked in a hot car."

A bit over dramatic, but you get the point.

I pursed my lips slightly and began to speak. "So, Winter's birthday is in a little over a week."

He nodded. "Right, I almost forgot about that."

"I want to do something for her, but as you know, I suck at this kind of thing and I can't very well just do nothing. She deserves to be spoiled this year. I mean, she deserves to be spoiled every year, but...oh god, and I also have to do something for Christmas--I don't think I'm ready for that! Mikey, what the fuck am I gonna do!? What if I get her something and it turns out to be so bad that she disowns me!?"

*smack*

I was cut off rather abruptly when Mikey's hand went across my face, nearly blinding me. It worked in snapping me out of my previous freak out and my heaving chest calmed dramatically. I really did need that, I think.

"Calm down. She's not going to disown you--that's what parents are for." he drank from his hot cup in a casual manner, is if he didn't just slap the shit out of me not even five seconds ago.

"Maybe I was freaking out a bit, but what am I gonna do? I know so much about her, yet I feel like I know nothing!" I absentmindedly rubbed at the red spot on my cheek in the shape of my brother's hand.

"You know she likes Ghibli films. Get her a copy of  _Kiki's Delivery Service_  or something." he suggested. I frowned.

"She already owns every single one of them. You name it, she's got it."

"Well you also know she loves music. And don't tell me she already has everything there is to have, because I know for a fact she doesn't."

"What if she does?"

"Gerard." he scolded.

"Sorry, sorry." I shuffled my feet awkwardly. She loved music. That still didn't give me anything. How was I supposed to know what she did or didn't have? For all I knew, she had a secret underground music library where she kept all her records. I didn't know whether or not I should get her Hendrix's  _The Jimi Hendrix Experience,_ Amy Winehouse's  _Back to Black_ , or  _L.A Woman_  by The Doors. She probably has all three, to be honest. 

"Hang on, just one second." Mikey held up his index finger to me and then disappeared off into the other room. I think he just went into my room, but I was too tired and worried about what to do for my girlfriend's birthday to care much. Besides, he had to have had a good reason for it. He wasn't the type of brother to snoop around my shit just for the hell of it. I waited patiently against the counter, drinking away mindlessly at my piping hot beverage until he finally emerged again after what felt like days.

He came back out holding a dark green crate filled with what looked to be a bunch of my old records that I never listened to anymore. I couldn't see what they were exactly, but he plopped them down on the counter in front of me. I set my cup down and started thumbing through them to see what it was he found. I soon came to find they were all old David Bowie records, ranging from  _Aladdin Sane_  to  _The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars_. I had to admit, they were all great choices. Mikey was always great at picking out what to get for someone.

"Found them under your bed." he said. I nodded.

"These are perfect, except..."

"Except what?" he tilted his head.

"What if she already has all of these?"

"She doesn't."

"How can you know?" I shot back.

"Because," he started. "Her and I were talking about music a few weeks ago. I asked if she had any Bowie records she still didn't have and she said she didn't have any of them, unfortunately. I guess she could never find any of them no matter what record store she went to. It's perfect, Gee. Plus, I never see you listening to them anymore."

I nodded as he spoke and I flipped through the rest of vinyl covers. Every one of The Great Master of Sound known as Bowie's releases up to this point were in here, and I knew he was right. This was perfect, I don't know why I didn't think of this before!

"Mikey, holy shit you're a genius!" I praised.

"Yeah, I get called that a lot." he replied. I looked back up at him with incredulous eyes. That couldn't be right, because as smart as he was, he was still really fucking stupid.

"What, a genius?" I scoffed.

"No, Mikey."

\-----

**Winter's POV**

I was back at school yet again, only it wasn't so bad this time, because I knew winter break was coming up here pretty soon. No pun intended. Because of that, I knew today wouldn't be so unbearable. I walked down the halls at a leisurely pace, in no hurry to get to anywhere really. My next class was pretty close by, so I could take my sweet time if I wanted. And that is what I did. I decided to stop at my locker to grab an extra notebook, since the one I was holding was running quite low, and my next class was History, not with Mr. Dun fortunately. Unfortunately, however, we tend to take a lot of notes in that period, so I would need all the paper I could get.

I stopped in front of my locker and entered in the combination real quick before swinging the aqua blue door open, expecting to find just my usual school supplies. Backpack, some G2 pens laying around here and there, and a few of my sketchbooks I kept in here just in case I ran out of drawing paper in one of them or something like that. Much to my surprise and delight, as well as ultimate confusion, there was a red glittery box right in the center of my locker. It was a present, neatly wrapped in a silky black ribbon, topped with a bow of the same color. It looked professionally wrapped and I picked it up with careful fingers.

Staring at it quizzically, I started to smile. This must be something from Gerard.

I slowly tore through the paper, stuffing the trash somewhere in the corner of the locker and examined what was underneath. It was a pack of prismacolor colored pencils, 48 of them to be exact. This was perfect, since I was running out of them pretty quickly.

Gerard was such a sweet devil of a man! I can't believe he did this, and my birthday isn't even for another week or so!

I discreetly placed the colored pencils in my satchel along with my already half used drawing pad. With a smile, I forgot all about the reason I came to my locker in the first place and skipped off to my next class. I got a few weird looks from other students, seeing as how it's a little strange to see a girl bouncing along down the halls with a bright smile on her face as if she just got kissed for the first time or something. I mean, it didn't sound strange, but I probably looked insane while I did this. Even my history teacher took note of my unusually jubilant attitude.

I practically shot out of my seat as soon as the bell rang, signaling lunch time. I hopped all the way to Gerard's classroom, ready to shower him in an abundance of 'thank you's'. I knocked lightly on his door and poked my head inside, seeing him speaking with another male student. I waited outside the door until the other student came walking out. He glanced at me, shooting me a wink and a smile. My arms were crossed sheepishly in front of me, and I smiled back shyly. He was a fairly tall brunet; dark brown hair, blue eyes and an Italian nose. He carried a skateboard at his hip and was wearing a Tony Hawk t-shirt over a long sleeved white shirt. I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say he liked skateboarding.

He left shortly after, riding his board down the halls and earning a few disgruntled shouts from other teachers nearby. He completely ignored them and continued in what he was doing. I chuckled, shaking my head, and walked into the room. Gerard was sitting at his desk with his legs propped up on the table and a comic book held in his hand as if it were a newspaper. I shut the door, then cleared my throat. He peered at me from over his comic, then once he saw that it was me, he put it down and held his arms out to me. I gladly went up to him, and he pulled me into his lap. I wrapped an arm around his neck and pecked his cheek.

"Hey there, Sugar." he cooed.

"Hi!" I giggled.

"What are you so giddy about?" he teased. I pulled the colored pencils out of my satchel and showcased them like they were an amazing piece of art. He saw them and grinned, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Where did you get those?"

"From my other lover." I retorted sarcastically. "I've been sleeping with the art teacher from the other school; I'm sorry I really didn't mean for you to find out this way."

"Oh, so you're sleeping with a seventy year old woman, now?"

My eyes widened slightly. Was she really that old?

"Shut it!" I squeaked. His hand squeezed my waist and I nearly yelped. Sometimes, he was a little more rough than he thought he was. "Thank you~" I then leaned down to kiss his lips. He kissed me back while laying a gentle hand across my cheek, pulling me in deeper. When we pulled away, he gave me another testy smirk.

"Thank you for what?"

"Shut up." I said, playfully. He chuckled again.

"No seriously, what are you thanking me for?"

"Really?" I raised a brow. I showed him the pencils again, as if they would somehow magically give them the answer. I mean...it kind of did.

"You know I wasn't the one who gave you those pencils, right?"

"Wait, you weren't?" 

How was that possible? I didn't know anyone else at this school besides him, I didn't really have any friends. And despite my little joke earlier, I wasn't sleeping with any other teachers in this school, nor was I really friends with any of them. So I know it couldn't have been one of them. Gerard shook his head, no. I furrowed my brows. This just didn't make any sense...

"What about Mikey?"

He shook his head once again. It was official now, I was fucking confused. Did I have a secret admirer?

How fucking cliche.

And furthermore, how did this boy/girl/whatever get into my locker? Unless they somehow knew my combination, or broke in another way. But then again, why would they break into my locker at all? Why not just give it to me in person? That also begged the question, why would anyone else want to give me anything, and how did they know it would be my birthday soon?

Lunch ended about a half hour later, and I reluctantly peeled myself away from Gerard's lap before his next class started filing in. I went to my own class, my mind still occupied with who could have given these to me. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate them, because I did. They were perfect, and I've never gotten a 48 pack before. It was just a little bewildering is all.

My next hour was mathematics, and then after that, I had French. The entire time I was in my desk, my leg shook violently, probably annoying the other people around me. I was itching to get out there and find out who my little admirer was, so much so that I couldn't will myself to pay attention to what my teacher was saying. It's not like it was super important anyway. I already knew everything there was to learn in here, I'm already fluent in the language. Why did I decide to take this course again?

Oh, right. It's because it's a requirement I have to meet if I want to go to a university. Great. Spending four years in the same class while already knowing the ins and outs of it. Sounds fantastic.

*gag*

Finally, the bell rang and people started practically sprinting outside, desperate to meet up with their friends and talk shit about that one weird kid in chemistry or that slutty girl who keeps hitting on all of her teachers. I was just eager to find out who gave me the pencils.

I made a quick stop at my locker once more to put away all my extra school notebooks. After I was done with that, I pulled out my phone, flipped it open, and shot Gerard a quick message, telling him I'd meet him at his apartment in a little bit. He texted back, saying okay but also asking if I was sure. What a worrywart. I rolled my eyes and told him to shut up and go home.

_-Anything for you, mistress._

"Oh my god!" I scoffed and slammed it shut, stuffing it back into my bag. I giggled at the same time, he could be such a dork. Actually, he's a dork all the time, but he's especially dorky today.

My locker door shut with a loud slam, making me jump slightly, and that's when I started walking down the halls, keeping my eyes peeled for whoever the culprit could have been. So far, though, I couldn't pin point any suspects. I didn't know any of these people and they sure as hell didn't know me. At least, they didn't know me well enough to know that my birthday was coming up here really soon. They didn't even like me, as far as I knew. I was still that weird, shy girl who couldn't make eye contact with anybody.

For a hot second, I thought maybe it was Aaron. He was the only person I could think of other than the obvious who might have a slight clue of when my birthday was. And even if he didn't, Christmas was also coming up really soon as well. I cursed at myself for thinking that. There was absolutely no way it could have been Aaron. He's had it out for me every since I enrolled at Hastings Academy. Him and his best friend, Ronnie. And in addition to that, Aaron hasn't been at school for about a month now. No one knows where he went, and no one has been able to get a hold of him. Just like always, when someone suddenly turned up missing, all fingers pointed to Scapegrace. It was obviously her, right?

I don't know. Something tells me she isn't to blame this time.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I felt a large hand on my shoulder. I jumped and quickly spun around, expecting to see Gerard coming to check up on me or something. Instead, I came face to face with someone I didn't know very well. He had chin length, slightly curly dark brown hair and blue eyes--it was the kid from earlier. The one I saw coming out of Gerard's classroom carrying a skateboard. My eyes diverted down for a second, and there it was. The board was attached to his hip like a leech.

The boy quickly lifted his hand off my shoulder and apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." he chuckled.

"No-it's o-okay." I assured. Just like I always did when talking with people I didn't know well, I avoided eye contact at all costs and instead focused on his left cheek.

"I'm Brandon," he introduced with a bright smile, then extended his arm out to me. I slowly took his hand, shaking it cautiously. He seemed to find my sheepishness amusing, for he let out another deep chuckle. I wonder what he's doing, introducing himself to me and everything. I don't know this kid, he didn't know me. Why would he want to get to know me?

"H-hi, um, I'm W-winter." I stuttered. Fuck. I really wish I didn't have that problem; it was humiliating to say the least. I talk like a damn child.

"Right, you're that chick with the rad art skills!"

I blinked in surprise. "Y-you think my art is bad?"

He laughed. "No,  _rad_. You're art's fuckin' sick! I wish I could draw like that!"

I mentally sighed with relief. For a moment there, I thought he was insulting me with a smile. I managed to throw a small one back at him after he assured me he wasn't denouncing my drawings.

"Did you like the pencils?"

"Huh?" I reeled back. He means to tell me that he was the one who left those colored pencils in my locker? How did he even get into it?

"The pencils-the 48 pack. I only see you using those shitty Crayola ones, Figured you prefer something a bit more professional looking."

"Wait, those were from you?"

"Yeah!" he grinned. "Christmas is just around the corner, and-y'know-I like you and all, so I thought..." he trailed off. He liked me?

"Th-they're awesome, thank you!" I squeaked. Brandon was in the middle of scratching the back of his head when he looked down at me and contorted his face into a relieved beam.

"Awesome! I'm so happy you like 'em--"

"I-I have to warn you, though. Um, I-I kind of...I'm kind of a-already with someone..."

Brandon seemed baffled for a moment for he tilted his head and scratched at his hair. Again. His brows were furrowed in concentration as if he were trying to decipher my words like they were a riddle. I stared back at him with doll eyes, never blinking. Then, like a light bulb just went off above his head, his face lit up again and he finally realized what I meant.

"Ohhh," he began. I tilted my head again and took a step back. "You mean that I--okay, I get it now. I didn't mean I like you as in, like, I like you. I mean, I like you, but I don't like you, but I like you."

"Wha..."

"Like, you're fucking awesome--I've seen what you can do and I like you for it, but I don't like like you. Like, I'm not saying I wouldn't make out with you, because like, I'd make out with anyone really. See that kid over there with the jeans sagging below his ass? Yeah, I tapped that ass and it was great but I won't do that with you since you've got a man already and all. Or a lady, I don't mean to make assumptions or anything. You could be a lesbian, though you don't really look like one although I don't really know how someone could look like a lesbian. I'm just being stupid like I always am but my point is gay people don't look a certain way so I'm not sure why I said that in the first place. Now I'm not sure what I was talking about--oh right, I like you. Not like like you, but I like y-"

"B-brandon." I cut him off. He's rambled on enough for the next decade, and I could tell he was struggling to get his point across. Although his wording was a little weird, I still understood what he was trying to tell me. "I think I get what you're trying to say." I giggled. I could tell he was a bit of a spaz already, but that's just what makes him interesting.

"Right, yeah sorry. I get distracted and carried away sometimes. I'm like Lorelai Gilmore, I ramble so much."

"You watch  _Gilmore Girls_!?" I gasped in excitement. He seemed to take that the wrong way and his face started turning pink.

"W-well, kinda...I mean, my mom watches it a lot and sometimes I get sucked into it, it's not like I watch it religiously or anything but I-"

I could smell another long winded rant coming my way, so to save him the embarrassment, I interrupted him again.

"I love that show!"

"You do!?"

Brandon suddenly got just as excited as I did. I've never met someone before who liked  _Gilmore Girls_ just as much as I did. I know Mikey loves Ghibli Films with a passion, like me. But as far as I knew, he wasn't one to watch something that girly. Or at least he wasn't willing to admit it to anyone. It's like admitting that you watch porn. You don't really want to because you're afraid people might get weirded out at you because of it. It's no secret that this show was really fucking girly to say the least. Surely no man would watch this shit. Except, they did. Because this show was a parasite, it latches onto you and it doesn't let you go until you're sitting on your couch with an empty tub of ice cream, and crying like a little bitch because Rory and Dean broke up for the third time. 

That got a little too specific.

Brandon put both hands on my shoulders, nearly shaking me, but I didn't mind. I knew this kid for not even a full five minutes and already I could tell we would get along great. He watched  _Gilmore Girls_ , how could we not?

"Holy shit, I think I just found my new best friend!" he exclaimed. He then lifted me off the ground with little effort and hopped onto his board. Instead of getting scared like I probably would have been, I just started laughing hysterically as he started rolling down the halls. This boy had a way of making me feel less introverted, and less reserved as a whole. He was just one of those people who you could instantly grow a liking to. At first, I was worried he might try to hit on me and maybe treat me the same way as Aaron and Ronnie have been for the past three years. But somehow, I knew that wouldn't be the case. He watches  _Gilmore Girls_  for fuck sake. Anyone who watches that show was bound to be an amazing human being. Or, whatever he might be. I remembered what Gerard told me about the Benigns and the Maligns. He could be something other than human, but I wasn't going to dwell on that. I was already fucking one, what was the big deal?

"You and I are gonna have tho much fun!" he nearly screamed while pretending to have a lisp. I laughed even harder at that and gripped onto his shoulders firmly, making sure I wouldn't slip and fall right out of his arm. The kid seemed strong enough, but you could never be too careful. I remember being a dropped a few times when I was younger, I wanted to avoid that if at all possible.

He never dropped me, even as he continued riding down the halls on his majestic skateboard. Every single teacher that we passed gave us (mainly him) dirty looks and screamed at him not to ride that thing while inside, and they also demanded that he put me down. He responded by either ignoring them entirely, or flipping them the bird. I laughed into my hand as he glided all the way through the front entrance just as someone was opening the door. He rode right past them, nearly colliding into them but managed to narrowly escape that situation.

"What the FUCK!" the kid who was opening the door shouted back at us. Brandon didn't seem to give a shit, and honestly, neither did I.


	25. I Wanna Be Yours

**Winter's POV**

When I woke up this morning, I was surprised to say the least when the aroma of something sweet, something that smelled like cinnamon filled my nostrils. For a moment, I thought that this was either still a dream, or I was still at Gerard and Mikey's apartment. No one ever cooked in this house, I certainly didn't know how without burning the house down and Okaasan never did. She always ordered take out and then went off to continue working on the New York Times paper. The front page, to be exact. I understand it's important, but still. It wouldn't kill her to at least sit down and have dinner with me ever so often. But, I'm done crying over that.

I moaned and stretched my body out, the blankets slowly sliding off my body and letting me feel the cooled air of my room. I then slowly rolled off of my futon and slowly rose to my feet. Everything was still the same, I was in my own apartment, and I could still smell something saccharine coming from outside the door. Curious, I hazardously threw on my kimono styled robe and trudged out into the living room. The smell got stronger the closer I got, and I could hear Bowie's  _Starman_ blaring out from a speaker in the kitchen. Did Gerard sneak into my home, or something? Either that, or there was a fucking ghost who really liked cinnamon and David Bowie. There was no way my mother was responsible for this. She was too busy with work to ever even think about doing something like this. Right? 

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and brushed back a few rogue strands of hair from in front of my face. After blinking several times per second, I caught sight of--lo and behold--my  _mother_ standing in the kitchen in front of a giant plate filled with  _yatsuhashi_ ; one of my favorite desserts I used to eat when I was a kid. It was coated with red bean paste, and smelled absolutely fantastic.

Okaasan was standing there in a pair of form fitting, blue boot cut jeans and a just-as-form-fitting black shirt with long sleeves and low shoulders. This was a dream, right? Okaasan was too busy to do this...

She was slowly moving her hips along with the rhythm and humming in time with his words. I could barely make out her smooth voice, one I longed to hear speak with more than just a few words here and there to me. I never expected for her to actually sing. I had to pinch myself in the arm to make sure I really wasn't still sleeping. I wasn't, and I was even more confused.

Her dark auburn hair was pulled up into a loose bun held together with a hair pick, similar to one I always wore, and decorated with bright pink cherry blossoms. She turned around and saw me staring at her with wide eyes. She immediately broke out into a warm grin, something quite foreign to me, at least when it was coming from her.

"Good morning,  _On'na no akachan_!" she greeted and stepped forward and wrap herself around me in a tight hug. I was so taken aback and in a state of awe that I couldn't hug her back. She didn't seem to mind, as she pulled away after a while and then handed me a plate with a some of the yatsuhashi she had made. I stuttered out a 'thank you' as she also gave me a pair of red chopsticks.

"O-okaasam, wha-what's all this for?" I tilted her head while she started mindlessly nombing on the sweet dessert as well. She looked at me as if I were the crazy one here, which in turn, made me even more confused.

"You're kidding, right?" she chuckled. I still didn't get it. "You make me laugh, my silly girl." she patted the top of my head and then motioned for me to try the dessert. I did so, cautiously, and as to be expected it tasted like heaven on a plate.

"Y-you made this?"

"Just for you, kid." she kissed my forehead. I swallowed down the food and cleared my throat.

"What's going on?" I asked. I wasn't trying to be rude or anything, I genuinely didn't know why all this was happening. Unless Christmas was suddenly a day early this year. But, I don't think that's the case obviously.

"Um, your birthday?" she chortled. "I couldn't very well just ignore that, now could I?" she pulled me closer, arm around my shoulder and cheek nuzzled against mine. "You deserve to be spoiled rotten. You're my little girl, after all."

I whined at being called a little girl. I may be little, but I'm not  _that_  little, am I? She laughed at my reaction, and for the moment I felt like I was in one of those cliche scenario's in a movie where it's as if the parent is doing everything in their power to embarrass their child. As unpleasant as it may have sounded, I don't think I minded it at all. It felt like I had a real mother and for that, I loved it.

"Oh..." I trailed off. "I forgot..."

"You forgot your own birthday?"

"Shut up!" my face burned bright red at this and I stuffed another yatsuhashi in my mouth. Her laughter increased at this and she pulled away to pour up both some coffee. She set a full, hot mug right next to me with a grin.

"Happy birthday, On'na no akachan."

On'nano akachan...she hasn't called me that in years. Not since I was at least twelve. It brought back old memories of when we used to be close, and when we used to sit down and watch shitty drama programs together. It nearly brought tears to my eyes, but I couldn't let them out. Not now.

"Th-thank you, Okaasan." I squeaked.

"Of course, baby." she kissed my forehead again. Things went quiet again, and I quietly munched on the sweet Japanese delicacy. I wasn't sure what to say, and I'm willing to bed she had the same problem. Her and I are just similar like that. I finished a little more than half of my breakfast and I went to open my mouth, about to say something in order to break this unbearable silence. But she beat me to the punch.

"Winter..."

I gazed up at her to see her with saddened eyes; as if just looking at me made her want to cry. I wondered why that was. For all I knew, I could have been a complete accident. It's definitely not uncommon for women to bear unwanted children. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility for me to be one of those children. I feel like it should be painful to think about, but in reality, it didn't even surprise me. That's really fucked up, if you think about it.

"I...I know I haven't been the best mom to you as of late."

This was certainly not a conversation I was expecting to have this morning. Actually, I never expected for her to own up to her mistakes, if you could even call it that. I just figured we would continue cruising through life never acknowledging the issues I may have with her, or the issues she may have with me. 

"I've been swamped with work to the point where I don't have time to do anything else, but that doesn't mean I should never have time for you. I hate that we've drifted apart this much, I miss the good old days when we told each other everything...this isn't how it should be." she raised her hand and cupped my cheek, leaning her forehead against mine. "I miss you, kid." 

"I...I miss you too, Okaasan." 

The next thing I knew, she was enveloping me into a warm hug, arms never letting me go. I was tense for the first few moments like when Gerard hugged me for the first time. For a brief moment, I felt guilty for keeping this giant secret from her; I'm sleeping with my teacher. I felt guilty for sneaking out pretty much every single night now to go be with my lover and his dork of a brother. I felt like I had a whole other life that she wasn't a part of. Like that show I watched when I was six,  _Hanna Montana_. I know it's a bad comparison, but it's true. I feel as if I'm living three different lives. I missed the one where my Okaasan played the leading role. 

\-----

I ended up spending the entire day with Okaasan, eating junk food and dancing to the music we used to dance to when I was a little kid. Anything ranging from AC/DC to Queen. I even introduced her to some of the music I've been listening to as of late, music that Gerard and Mikey have introduced me to. I made her listen to Blink-182's  _Enema of the State_ , Panic!'s  _A Fever You Can't Sweat Out_ ,  and basically every album ever by Fall Out Boy. She seemed surprised that I was into this kind of stuff, but she didn't dislike it. In fact, I caught her lip syncing passionately to  _Mr. Brightside_. 

I was also surprised to find she had went shopping for my birthday. I mean, I suppose that's not really something I should be surprised about. All mother's do that, but I just wasn't expecting for mine to do the same. 

Not only that, but she also insisted on helping me color my hair again after I mentioned that I was ready for a change like that. She came back out of the bathroom with many boxes of hair dye and a bleach kit. We spent the next few hours stripping my hair of all its color and then coloring it with this blue hair dye she got from the beauty shop down the street. I was originally opposed to it, I was thinking I'd do a brighter crimson red or something. But Okaasan practically gave me a whole presentation on why I would look amazing with blue hair. So, I eventually gave in and let her take over. And I had to say, she wasn't wrong. 

I stood in front of my mirror for a good fifteen minutes, just admiring myself. My hair was electric blue, and vibrant; more so than I anticipated. It was certainly very different, not at all what I was used to but I wasn't complaining. 

In all honesty, I felt like the main character of a shounen anime. 

We were up until around nine in the afterno--I mean nine in the evening until she grew fatigued and ended up passing out on the couch. I covered her with the red crocheted blanket from the hall closet and kissed her forehead before I sneaked out of my bedroom window, something I think I've grown far too accustomed to doing now. Strangely enough, I didn't care much at all. 

Since it was colder out tonight than it had been recently, I wore a pair of black jeans and dark red long sleeved blouse. I jumped over the window sill, landing swiftly on my feet and was about to start heading over to where Mikey and Gerard were, just like they told me to earlier via text message. I nearly fell backwards when Gerard himself was standing there, clad in a three piece suit and slicked back black hair. Once he saw me and my now bright ass blue hair, he reeled back with widened eyes. 

"Whoa, was my girlfriend just replaced by Hatsune Miku?" 

"Shut up!" I shot back and stomped past him. He laughed at me and reached for my hand. 

"You look so adorable!" he gawked. I rolled my eyes with a grumble and look the liberty of leading us both back to his place. Of course, just my luck, Mikey had about the same reaction as Gerard did. 

"When did Hatsune Miku move to New York?"

"I already said that joke, Mikes." 

"Dammit."

I huffed and rolled my eyes once again. I swear to fucking god, if it weren't for their radically different hairstyles they would be the same fucking person. 

"Happy birthday  _Fuyu_!" the boys exclaimed in unison while Mikey suddenly grabbed a handful of confetti from his pocket and threw it in the air right above me. I giggled.

"Are you guys taking Japanese lessons?"

"Mikey is, and he's passed down some of his knowledge to me." he remarked. I tilted my head and shifted my weight to one hip.

"Really? Like what?"

Gerard scratched his head for a moment, deep in though, and I could already see the subtly hints of deviousness creeping onto the younger Way's face. Oh this should be good.

His face suddenly lit up with realization and his face contorted into one of playful flirtatiousness. His voice was low and raspy when he said this, which just made it all the more comedic.

" _Ketso wo taberu~_ "

Mikey broke, then. He doubled over with his arms around his stomach, laughing hysterically. Gerard seemed to realize that what he said wasn't what he thought it was. He turned to face Mikey with flushed cheeks.

"What did I just say!?"

Mikey couldn't even get out a full sentence because of how hard he was laughing. His eyes were crinkled up and his mouth wide open, I thought his jaw would unhinge like a snake.

"MIKEY!!"

When he realized he wouldn't get anything out of the younger way, he turned to me instead with humiliated eyes. I kind of felt bad for him, in all honesty. But even so, I couldn't help myself from cackling away as well. This only further increased his embarrassment and he buried his face in his hands. Poor thing.

I went up to give him a hug along with a kiss on the cheek, and I did the same with Mikey. Gerard was still bugging us to tell him what he said, but neither of his gave him an an answer. I hopped up on the counter and he grumbled something under his breath about how was Googling it right now.

"You do that." his brother deadpanned before opening the fridge and reaching inside for something. I paid him no mind and watched as his face slowly morphed into curiosity, then one of shock. He looked back up from his phone and gave Mikey a livid expression.

"You little shit!!"

I burst into another fit of giggles while Mikey kept reaching for other things in the cabinets and eventually pulling a lighter out of his pocket. I grew curious by this time, and I glanced over to see a bright white and pink cake topped with ripe red cherries and exactly sixteen rainbow candles. I gawked at the sight and frantically switched my gaze between both of the brothers. By now, the whole  _ketso wo taberu_ bit had been long forgotten and the boys held sheepish faces. 

"You...you guys..." I stammered. Gerard took a few steps forward and I held out my arms and legs, signaling that I wanted a hug from him. He more than willingly complied and I wrapped both my arms and legs around him. I yelped slightly when he lifted me off the counter entirely, supporting my weight wish a hand cupped on my bottom. "You guys didn't have to!"

"Um, of course we did, it's your birthday!" the younger Way practically yelled. I jumped back down to my feet and yanked him down for a hug as well. He happily embraced me back, arms tightly snaked around my waist. His chin rest on my shoulder until I sniffled and pulled away. I cursed myself for beginning to cry at this time. I looked down, avoiding both of their eyes and started wiping away the involuntary tears. I made sure not to let them see as I wiped them away. I had to hold back a scream as I saw that my tears were dark red--they looked like blood.

Thank god they blended in with the sleeves of my blouse perfectly.

"Oh Winter, don't cry baby!" Gerard said in a high pitched voice, one I didn't think he was capable of. It made me laugh, too, because I knew he wasn't trying to mock me or anything.

"Did we do something?" Mikey asked dejectedly. I quickly shook my head.

"N-no...I-I'm just so happy...!" I squeaked. The boys made simultaneous cooing noises and hugged me at the same time. This only seemed to worsen the onslaught of crimson tears. Gerard took the liberty of handing me a tissue from the counter along with a pat on the head. I turned my body away so my back was to them, and started furiously wiping away the tears. I then stuffed the red stained tissue into my jean pocket and turned back around with bloodshot eyes. "You two are so fucking amazing! T-thank you!"

"Anything for you, doll!" Gerard wrapped an arm around my shoulders. We watched as the younger Way lit each of the candles with the lighter until it almost looked like a bonfire.

"Make a wish  _Fuyu!_ " Mikey beamed. I hesitated for a moment before going up and blowing them all out. It took a few blows for me to put them all out, but when I did, the boys all applauded as if I'd just finished a breathtaking performance.

"What did you with for, Sugar?" Gerard teased. He was immediately then smacked upside the head. I flinched slightly, giggling happily.

"You idiot! You can't tell your wish to anyone or else it won't come true!"

"Shut up, you little twerp!"

I watched them bicker back and forth for a few minutes, and in my mind, I got to thinking. What did I wish for?

I never really got into the habit of making wishes while blowing out my birthday candles, I never saw a point to it. My wishes wouldn't come true anyway. That was certainly a pessimistic way of putting it, but I didn't feel pessimistic in the slightest, not now anyway. I didn't make a wish because I didn't have any to make. I had everything I'd ever want, well, most everything. Of course the one person who was missing could be here. She could never be here. Yet somehow, I still felt her presence near me. I can't really explain it, but it was almost like her spirit was right next to me, whispering words of encouragement. If I listened hard enough, I swear I could make out her voice...

Other than that one factor, I had everything I wanted. Okaasan was making attempts to bond with me like a real mother should, and I was meeting her halfway. I made a new friend recently, Brandon, who I'd been texting every single day and I even hung out with him outside of school a few times. And finally, I had these two dorks. One of them I was head over heels in love with, and the other was slowly creeping his way into being one of my best friends of all time. Of course, neither of them could even begin to compare to the one I lost about two years ago. But I'm ready to form new bonds, and to build new friendships now.

I interrupted them in the middle of their bickering by placing kisses on both of their cheeks. They stopped mid sentence with bright pink cheeks. I grinned up at them.

"I don't need to make a wish, I have everything I could ever need already. Including you two weirdo's."

Suddenly it looked like they were both about to cry as well. A thin red line formed along Gerard's waterline, indicating that the water works were coming up again. Or blood words, in his case I guess. Mikey looked normal.

Before a whole crying fest could start in the kitchen, Gerard piped up.

"The crown!"

"Oh, right!!" Mikey dashed away, disappearing off into his room while Gerard took to cutting the cake. He plopped three fair slices onto three different plates and the younger Way returned not three seconds later, bearing a ruby red plastic crown. He placed it carefully onto my head. I laughed.

"You guys!"

"You look like royalty!" they both said at the same time.

"Now the only thing missing is a queen." I have Gerard an expectant look. He instantly struck a pose, legs parted wide, hands on his hips. He looked like the physical embodiment of the word sassy. Oh that man...

We all sat on the couch together, watching  _Ponyo_ , and  _Labyrinth_. Right after the second one ended, the boys decided it was time for gifts. I blushed at the thought and told them they really shouldn't have. I already felt spoiled rotten by Okaasan, there really was no need for this. They shushed me every time I tried to speak until they brought out two fairly large boxes neatly wrapped in bubblegum pink wrapping paper. They sat on either side of me and motioned for me to open them. I did so, very awkwardly. I always felt weird when in situations like these. But I think it was worth it.

Mikey insisted on opening his gift first, and surprisingly enough Gerard didn't try to argue with him. I would have commented on it, if it weren't for them bouncing like little children, waiting for me to open them.

I slowly ripped away the paper and saw a light blue case and for a moment I thought it was a briefcase. But when I opened it up, my eyes widened like I was on fucking drugs. Did Mikey Way just give me a fucking record player!?

"M-Mikey-"

"Mine next!" Gerard cut me off and plopped the other gift into my lap. I yelped and after listening to another little bickering session between the two brothers, I finally got around the unraveling the second one. It was yet another briefcase looking thing, but when I opened it, instead of finding another record player I found...no fucking way....no pun intended.

It was an entire case filled with every David Bowie vinyl record you could ever think of. My jaw went slack at this, and the boys seemed to take enjoyment out of my reactions.

"You guys, you-I-I don't know what to say!" I started to feel like I was going to cry again, but this time around, I managed to keep the sobbing at bay. I wasn't about to let them see that. Not again.

"You don't have to say anything, baby." Gerard leaned down and captured my lips into a small, sweet lip lock. I kissed him back and I could already get a sense for what was to come next this evening. That familiar little spark made its presence known, as if always does when him and I touch lips. We pulled away after a few seconds and I leaned my head on the other Way's shoulder, hugging him.

"Thank you guys, you're too sweet."

"So sweet, it makes me gag." he joked. I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

We spent the next several hours having a little mini dance party in the living room. David Bowie was playing at a loud volume, but we all loved it. We didn't just listen to Bowie, though. They put on other types of music as well. Gerard did a strip tease to Marina's  _Bubblegum Bitch_ much to his brother's dismay. At one point, I jumped up onto the coffee table and started passionately lip syncing along to  _Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)._ I had an air microphone and everything, and towards the end when Tenacious D had the floor, I suddenly turned into a metal head and started headbanging like there was no tomorrow. I was admittedly a little more than buzzed by that time, but so was Mikey, and he even joined me in the performance. I played Jables, he played Cage. 

Tonight was definitely eventful, to say the least, just like the date he and I went on just before winter break. I lost count of how many times Gerard basically was a stripped while songs like  _Sexy Silk_ , or  _Gimme More_  were playing. I almost confessed to him about my secret love for Brittany Jean Spears. Thank god I was sober enough to not do something like that. If that were to happen, they would no doubt relentlessly make fun of me. Sue me, though. She's fucking hot.

And apparently Gee thought so to.

Why was my boyfriend prettier than me?

Mikey soon passed out on the couch, and Gee took the liberty of carrying him over his shoulder back to his bed. He muttered something in his sleep about wanting to be under Pete Wentz. I...I don't even know.

Once he was tucked into bed, Gerard came back out and gave me a hungry look. He licked his lips, then suddenly sprinted up and lifted me over his shoulder just as he did with Mikey. I let out a high pitched noise from the back of my throat, which made him swoon. I don't know why, but for some reason whenever I made a sound like that, Gerard melted. It's not like they were intentional, though.

"Now that he's out for the night, why don't we go and have some fun, huh?"

I brought my hand down and spanked him like he did with me whenever his brother wasn't looking.

"I'll take that as a yes, then." he purred before running through the halls and dropping me down onto his bed. Suddenly, it was like we were predator and prey. Me, playing the part of the prey and him, of course, being the predator. A low growl emitted from his chest and I returned the gesture with a hiss. He then pounced, rolling us over and eventually coming to straddle me, his hips holding mine down, legs on either side of mine. He licked his lips and leaned down to attach them to my neck. I tried to hold them back as much as I could, but I couldn't keep the moans at bay. He gyrated his hips down onto mine, causing for more sounds of desperation to escape my throat. Sometimes I couldn't believe some of the things he did to me.

"You like that, Sugar?"

I moaned in response my hand coming up to his shoulder and scratching lightly down his back. This only drove him on further and he took to spreading my legs around his waist and working at the buttons of my jeans. It amazed me how fast he was able to get them undone, and my shirt halfway over my head. He took his sweet time, stopping every so often to stare down at my body greedily.

"Are you ready for your birthday present, sweetheart?"

"I-I thought I already got it," I said, confused. Unless...

"Oh no, Sugar, I've still got another present in store for you..." To further prove his point, he ground himself against me, causing for a bit of friction to build up. My toes tingled and my hands shook with anticipation. "Are you ready, baby?"

"Y-Yes...!"

The next thing I knew, we were both stark naked and ready for another night of passionate and intense love making. That was one thing I loved about the two of us. Nothing was ever boring. Every night I spend with him was a night well spent. Every single time we became one with each other, it felt as if it were our first time all over again. Not only that, but it also felt eerily similar to the first time I ever gave myself over to her. To Naomi Dawson.

Rest in peace, old friend. I promise I won't ever forget you.


	26. Maybe This Christmas

**Winter's POV**

Once again, I woke up to the smell of something sweet radiating from the kitchen, where I heard Okaasan humming along to the song  _White Christmas_ , by...was what the voice of Brendon Urie I heard? Intrigued, I sluggishly dragged myself out of bed like I did yesterday morning and my robe slid across the carpet as I walked. I poked my head around the corner, and grinned at the sight of her using a spatula as a microphone and sip syncing with seemingly all the passion in the world. Even when she spotted me watching her from a few feet away, she didn't get flustered and try to act as if she weren't just having a mini dance party to Panic! at the Disco. Instead, she only grew more intense and even yanked me in by the arm, motioning for me to join her. My eyes were still crusted over with sleep and I didn't exactly have the most energy in the world, so I didn't join her. I only watched while she danced wildly around me, sometimes putting her hand on my shoulder and 'singing' to me with raw emotion.

The song finished, and it was then I noticed the pile of bright red and green cookies in the shape of little Christmas trees. I couldn't help myself from widening my eyes and looking at her like she was insane.

"Did you get high!?" I asked frantically. I started sniffing the air for any traces of marijuana, she grew up in the sixties so I wouldn't be all that surprised. I even took to patting her down, reaching into her pockets as she rolled her eyes but didn't try to stop me from my actions.

"No, I did not get high!...this morning." she finished. I dropped her arm from my grasp and looked her dead in the eye with possibly the most disappointed and un-amused expression I've ever had. If there was one thing I knew about Okaasan, it was that she definitely wasn't the type of person to go out and buy such an obscene amount of junk food, even on special occasions. Yes, she had a bit of a sweet tooth a lot of times, but never to this extent. It was almost amazing to look at.

"I don't know what to do with you."  I deadpanned. She beamed brightly at me and picked up a plate that reeked with diabetes. I had to admit, though, they did smell pretty good. She extended it out to me, motioning for me to take one.

"You can start by joining me in my gluttonous ways!"

With a raised eyebrow and slow movements, I carefully grabbed for one of the cookies and bit into it. She watched me intently, as if she needed my approval for something. I stared at her with unblinking eyes while I chewed. Her ridiculous, shit eating smile only seemed to grow with every bite I took to the point where she almost looked demented. I never knew my mother could be so fucking weird. I guess being constantly swamped with work and never having the time to do anything but write just didn't allow for her to let her freak flag fly. Well, it seems she's letting it fly now.

"You need help." I muttered before brushing past her and into the living room where we had a fairly small sized tree in the corner right by the television. There were a few gifts under the tree with red and white wrapping paper, some were for me, and some were for Okaasan. There was one under there which I was planning on giving to Brandon when I saw him next as a thanks for the colored pencils. I've actually been using those a lot lately, the other set I had that I got from a kids crafts section was left dormant and unused in one of my desk cubicles. These new ones are way better quality, like he said. I wonder what he was up to, now...

He mentioned that his mom was working a lot, she had two jobs and therefore didn't have a lot of time to spend with him. So there was one big thing I could relate to with him.

As if on cue, my phone dinged and I reached over the counter to grab it. I flipped it open to see a text message from skater boy himself.

- _Merry x-mas Ms.Gilmore!!!!_

I giggled at his new nickname for me. He took to calling me Ms.Gilmore, or Ms. G because of my love for that show, and I guess I reminded him of Rory in a lot of ways. I always mentally furrowed my eyes at that, I would have thought of myself as more of a Lorelai, if anything.

- _Merry x-mas to you too, Mr. Skater Boi :3_ I sent a text message back. He replied less than two minutes later.

- _So what are you up to today? Have you been good for ol' St. Nick?_

I laughed and went to type back.

- _Eh, just hanging out with my mom who apparently got high this morning without me knowing. What about you?_

*ding*

- _Rewatching the first season of G Girls and stuffing my face hole with mint chocolate._

_-Make sure to save some for mommy dearest_

I giggled lightly at the thought of him lounging on the couch with a whole bucket of white chocolate dumped all over him. That boy was a dork to say the least, and I learned her had a thing for chocolate. He was like a girl on his period when it came to that shit. While I was at the convenience store with him one day, I caught him opening at least three Hershey's bars and chowing them down like he was a starving slave. He did pay for them of course, but as I was paying for my stuff, I turned around to see him doing the same thing yet again, and I didn't feel like being accused of shoplifting that day. So I paid for those as well, and we left while his entire mouth was covered in chocolate.

- _Don't need to. Mommy's at work rn._

I frowned and went to message him back again.

- _Does she get off soon?_

It took a while for him to respond, and I had a feeling I unintentionally struck a chord in him. I was about to send an apology to him, when my phone dinged yet again.

- _Nah. She's working all day and night. Looks like Skater Boi's on his own._

My heart sunk in my chest at that sentence. That meant he was all alone on Christmas. What, his mom couldn't find the time to be with her own son for the holiday? Frowning, I gazed back up to see Okaasan adjusting some of the tinsel hung loosely from the tree.

"Okaasan," I called. She gazed up at me with curious eyes. She noticed my crestfallen expression and trudged toward me.

"What's up, kid?"

I glanced down at my phone, then back to her. It was worth a shot.

"You know that kid, Brandon, I was telling you about?"

"The one who gave you those colored pencils?"

"Yeah," I answered. "He's all alone today, his mom wasn't able to get the day off." I murmured carefully. For a split second, she looked like she was in deep thought, and she shrugged her shoulders carelessly, as if it didn't even matter.

"So let's invite him over." she said, casually. My eyes lit up and a smile appeared on my face.

"Really!?"

"Yeah," she grinned. "No kid should ever have to be alone on this day. Tell him to come over as soon as he can, he's spending the day with us."

Excited and uplifted, I promptly got back to messaging him.

- _Get your ass over._

- _What?_

My smile never faltered as I started typing out the letters. It took me a while, since it is a flip phone and all. I guess I could update it and get a newer phone, maybe an iPhone or something. But I like my shitty, outdated flip phone. It makes me look cooler than I really am when I flipped it open to answer an incoming call.

- _You heard me, get yo ass over here. I'll be damned if I let you be alone today._

_-It's ok Winter. I don't want to intrude. Besides, this is a family holiday._

_-Are you saying you don't want to come?_

_-No, I do, I just don't want to be intruding or anything._

_-You're not intruding. My mom told me to invite you over. Now get over here before I reach through the screen and strangle you._

_-Are you sure?_ he responded to me after a while.

- _GET OVER HERE_

That was the last of our conversation before I closed my phone and tossed it back onto the counter. Okaasan gave me a curious look after finishing with the readjusting of the tinsel.

"What's the verdict?"

"He'll be here soon." I smiled. She smiled back, and I went up to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Okaasan."

"No problem, kid."

We decided to wait to do gifts until Brandon got here about fifteen minutes later. When I opened the door, he was carrying a couple of gift bags with him as well as a bouquet of daisies and a bottle of sparkling cider. Pomegranate flavored. I beamed at him and practically pulled him inside. He set everything he had down on the counter, and turned to see Okaasan walking over. He held his hand out to shake, but she didn't shake it. Instead, she pulled him into a rather tight hug much to his surprise. He hugged back lightly, and she pulled away.

"I'm so happy you could make it, I've been dying to meet Winter's little friend!"

"Okaasan!" I squealed. Did she really have to say it like that? Brandon only chuckled at her excitement.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ms. Kirijo." she playfully rolled his eyes at him and brought a hand down to his shoulder.

"Oh quit with the formalities, kid. Just call me Aki!"

"O-Okay then!" he chuckled. He then turned around towards the counter and motioned toward everything he brought with him. "I, uh, I got a few things on the way here-" he grabbed the gift bags, handing one to me and one to Okaasan.

"Oh, hun, you didn't have to!" she beamed. He laughed and then bashfully scratched the back of his head. I could tell he was feeling a little shy, so in an attempt to alleviate some of this shyness, I grabbed his hand and lead him inside of the kitchen. I then took to filling up a plate filled with the most sugary breakfast you could ever imagine. I handed it to him, and one to Okaasan.

The rest of the day was spent lounging around, and watching bad Christmas movies. Well, bad ones and iconic ones. Okaasan was sipping from a glass of wine the entire time, while Brandon and I had glasses of the cider he brought. We watched  _Home Alone_ , and  _Home Alone 2,_ and then laughed when Donald Trump made a brief cameo. He made a snide comment about how there were rumors going around that he would be running for president in 2016. We just laughed it off and moved on to watch  _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ , a favorite of all of us, and then  _Elf_. We gorged on Christmas cookies, candy canes, and anything else you could think of. We even tried eggnog for the first time, and Okaasan really seemed to like it. But I think hers was laced with Whiskey. I'm not going to lie, I sneakily poured Brandon and I a glass of it as well without her knowledge and luckily she never caught us.

He returned home later than evening after we offered to drive him home. He politely declined, saying he wanted to try out his new board I had gotten him since the one he had now looked pretty shabby. We thanked him once again, and he thanked us for making this Christmas way better than it was this morning.

"You know you're welcome here anytime!" Okaasan exclaimed and wrapped him up in a bear hug. I think she was a little tipsy at this point, so I had to be the one to pry her off of him. I later put her to bed, kissing her forehead and wrapping her in a blanket before I went to go get changed since I'd been in my pajamas all day. I was considering the thought of wearing another pretty dress like I did yesterday, but then I decided against it. Instead, I pulled on a pair of black flare jeans with holes in the knees, and a black sweater with a giant inverted pentagram with the words  _SINNERS ARE WINNERS_  on it. I pulled on my lace up combat boots, grabbed my backpack filled with gifts for the boys and started climbing out the window.

Of course, there he was dressed in a similar three piece suit he seems to adore so much. Except, his shirt was red instead of white. And there was something else that was different about him...something else was red...

I froze in my tracks and stared at him, wide eyed. His once jet black hair similar to mine was no longer black but instead, a vibrant cherry red. I tilted my head, not saying a word. He chuckled at my reaction and came closer.

"I thought it was time for a change in me, too." he said. His hands circled around my waist and kissed my nose. I gave no reaction to it, and instead replied with something else.

"Sweet! I' always wanted to fuck a redhead!"

He threw his head back and opened his mouth wide in a boisterous laugh. When he calmed himself, he took my hand in his much larger one and began leading the way back to his apartment for the umpteenth time. By now, I'm sure I could make it there by myself. It's practically ingrained into my mind but he won't allow that. I swear, this man is too overprotective for his own good. He still thinks that Scapegrace might get to me. I guess I can't blame him. But call it intuition, call it psychic, but I'm way, way more than certain that Scapegrace won't touch me. Because, well...I'll let the author answer that in due time.

"We look like fruit!" I remarked.

"We do, my little blueberry~"

Throughout the rest of our trek to his home, we kept comparing each other to different fruit's and thinking up nicknames for each other now that our hair complimented one another. I wonder if he did that on purpose...actually scratch that, I know he did that on purpose. That adorable little shit. Nevertheless I smiled at the thought. We looked like polar opposites now, yet we were very similar in a lot of ways.

Take the coffee and cigarette's for example. I swear, we were both a fucking pot of black coffee in a former life.

We arrived there pretty quickly to see Mikey putting the finishing touches on the stockings above the fireplace. I was shocked to see one strung up with my name on it. I didn't think they'd do something like that, especially since they haven't even known me for a full year. Maybe they did it just to be polite. Either way, I was touched.

"BLUEBERRY'S HERE!!" the younger Way exclaimed, picking me up and spinning me around once before throwing me over his shoulder. I squealed at this and caught a glimpse of Gerard coming to chase after me since Mikey began sprint across the living room, shouting things like "I'VE TAKEN THE QUEEN!!" or just laughing like a maniac in general. Gerard kept yelling for him to give me back and I was left to giggle helplessly while I was dangled over his shoulder.

"I WILL CASTRATE YOU!" he screamed. By now, Mikey had left the living room to circle around the kitchen counter, then dashing into the hallway, running into his room and jumping onto his bed. Gerard followed, of course and reached out for me. He was about to jump back off of the bed when Gerard tackled him without warning. Thank god we were on a bed or else this would have hurt like fucking hell. But it only made me laugh even more. Gerard landed on top of Mikey, and Mikey landed on top of me. The only part of my body that wasn't being crushed by him was my head and shoulders. I wheezed, gasped, and started lightly punching into him.

"Mikey you cunt!" I managed to squeeze out, although having the weight of two full grown men right on top of me didn't help much at all.

The next thing I knew, the Way brothers started wrestling  _on top of me_.

"Ow! You guys are gonna kill me!" I shouted at them and batted at Mikey in the hopes of getting him to at least roll off of me and let me breath, goddammit. He ended up pushing Gerard off the bed, but he grasped onto Mikey's collar, taking him to the ground with him as well. They fell with a thud, yet their yells and groans never ceased. I think I sat on the bed, watching them with a flat expression for about ten minutes before I got up to intervene. They weren't doing any real damage to each other, just a few smacks to the arm here and there, but I also didn't want to sit here all night and watch them go at it like fucking lions for hours on end.

I grabbed a pillow from the younger Way's bed and started smacking them with it, hoping to at least grab their attention. It took a few moments, but I ended up nailing Gerard and the face, causing for him to fall onto his back. He groaned pitifully and stared up at me. All of a sudden his face contorted into a devious smile and he looked like he was seeing me naked, or something inappropriate like that.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Hehe, you're pretty!" he giggled childishly. I rolled my eyes and held my hand out for him to take. I tried lifting him off the floor, but he weighted ten times more than Okaasan.

"Fuck! Why are you so fucking heavy!" I hissed and rubbed my arm. Lifting him actually did hurt a bit. He laughed and apologized in a non serious tone.

"Sorry Sugar!"

"Shut up and get the fuck out here so I can give you guys your gifts you amazing bastards."

Like excited children, they followed me all the way out their living room again, where my backpack was tossed unceremoniously on the couch. The Way brothers reached under their tree and dropped a fairly big pile of gifts on the floor by the couch. The wrapping paper was less than professional, I'll say that much. But I still smiled and added my own piece offerings into the heap.

"Oh, hang on Mikes! I gotta get yours!"

"You haven't got it already?" he put his hand to his chest and put on a mock offended face. I bopped him upside the head and disappeared off into Gerard's room where he told me I could keep Mikey's gift in his closet until it was time to give it to him.

I came back out with a case that was almost larger than my body, and I set it down in front of him. He gawked at it with bug eyes, he was clearly in amazement. Exactly the reaction I was hoping he would have.

"W-Winter, you-you didn't-"

"We did." I grinned. "Open it! Open it!" I encouraged. He faltered for a little bit, until he started unlatching it with shaking fingers. I was shaking in my spot as well, anticipating his further reaction when he saw what it was that I got him.

He opened the case and it was almost comedic how much his eyes widened. Jaw slack and unblinking, he slowly lifted up a Thin Gypsy Thief Studio's RevolveR Steampunk Bass. It was a dark brown color with what looked to be two pocket watches ingrained into the side, right next to the fret board. He loved anime more than anything else, and he loved Steampunk just as much. He also loved playing music like his brother, and I knew I just had to get this for him. Well, I can't take all the credit. I was the one who picked it out and paid for half of it, but Gee also pitched in as well.

"Y-you guys...I-I don't know what to-you-I-"

"You don't have to say anything Mikes," Gerard said, wrapping his arm around his shoulders. "I love you, lil' bro."

"I love you too, Gee." Mikey was close to tears, and I knew I would be pretty soon here if I continued watching this.

Next was Gerard's turn. I pushed a heavy wrapped box towards him and he looked at it peculiarly before slowly going to rip the paper away. Once it was gone, he opened the box and the first thing he saw was a comic book with Deadpool bearing an afro hairdo on the cover. He shakily picked it up, only to see yet another Deadpool rarity, and underneath that, there was an abundance of other highly rare, nearly impossible to find comic books. I've heard him talking about how he'd give his soul just to get a glimpse of these in real life, and you may be wondering how I could get my hands on such a thing, well. I have my ways.

He looked through maybe half of the giant box before he gazed up at me with watery eyes and instantly dove across the floor, wrapping his arms around me and tackling me in a powerful hug. I yelped, not expecting for him to do something like that. Although, it's Gerard, I really should have been from the moment I gave him the box.

"That one's from both Mikey and I." I said. He nodded in confirmation.

A moment later, an idea popped into his head and he reached for something in the inside of his coat pocket. He pulled out a black velvet box, and my breath hitched. He handed it to me with a bashful smile, and I took it cautiously. Oh god...

_Please don't be an engagement ring please don't be an engagement ring please don't be an engagement ring please don't be an engagement ring--_

I opened the box. It wasn't an engagement ring.

It was a key.

Baffled, I looked up at him and tilted my head. He somehow knew what I was going to ask and started speaking before I had a chance to.

"It's a key to the apartment."

My jaw dropped. This felt like way more than just a steampunk bass or a giant ass box filled with endangered comics. Yes, it may have been a lot smaller, but its meaning was much greater. In all honesty, I wasn't sure if I was ready for this kind of thing. But, he was. He was ready to give me this and for that, I couldn't bring myself to give it back. It meant too much to him, I could tell.

"Gerard, I..."

"It's a key to the apartment, so you're more than welcome to come here literally anytime you want. It doesn't matter if we're here or not. You're a part of our family now, and we hope that this showcases that. Winter," he grabbed my hand. "I love you."

I couldn't help myself. I did almost the exact same thing he did and I tackled him into a massive bear hug. He didn't get knocked back this time, he caught me effortlessly and Mikey soon joined in after I yelled at him to do so.

Our little heart to heart was interrupted however by a knock at the door. I tensed up immediately. I always hated that, especially when I was never expecting any company. But this isn't my house.

Gerard stood to open the door while I told Mikey that I'd pour us some hot coffee. We debated on whether or not we wanted to make hot chocolate for a change, since it is Christmas and all. But in the end, we couldn't give up our caffeine for even just a night. We're all junkies, I swear to god.

I poured three fairly large mugs, set them on the counter and then felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I heard another person's voice talking to the boys, but I paid it no mind. Whoever it was probably had the wrong address or something. I opened my phone to see Brandon had sent me a Pete Wentz meme. I rolled my eyes. I would have sent one back, but...It's a flip phone...so instead, I texted him something about how I would absolutely make him my bitch. I then closed the device, slipped it back into my pocket and turned back to the boys. Things had gotten unusually quiet, and I got worried for a moment.

There was a man at the door, standing in front of Gerard and holding two gift bags, and a bouquet of fake black roses. I was curious as to who this stranger was, but at the same time, I grew very bashful as I always do around people I don't know and slumped back deeper into the kitchen.

Gerard reluctantly let him in, and it was then that I got a good look at him.

He wasn't terribly tall, in fact if I weren't as short as I am, I would be calling him a midget; standing a few inches shorter than both the brothers. His hair was dark brown, almost black and a little long, and I couldn't tell if his eyes were brown or hazel. He was pale as well, paler than most. As pale as I was, actually. And based off of the way Mikey and Gee were acting, they knew who he was. I didn't obviously, and I contemplated the idea of shrinking down and hiding behind the counter in the center of the kitchen.

Gerard and this unknown man stared at each other for a long while, never saying anything. For a minutes, I thought it would be like this all night long. But the unknown man glanced down at everything he was hold and spoke for the first time in a smooth voice, which had subtle hints of rasp to it.

"I...I got something for you both..." he trailed off. I slowly inched my way behind the counter and started lowly crouching. With the coffee mug still in my hand and eyes wide I sipped silently and half heartedly listened to their conversation. I heard nothing for a while, and that's when I decided to peek out from behind the counter and see what was going on. I did so just in time to see Gerard yanking the unknown man in for a heartfelt hug. The man didn't hesitate in the slightest in hugging him back, and it looked like they were long lost brothers or something. I had a strong feeling that they had a deep connection with each other somehow. A connection similar to the one Naomi and I have.

Mikey was the next one to hug him, and they exchanged a few words but I was back to hiding behind the counter, hoping whoever this man was, hadn't noticed me.

Just my luck though, for I heard Gerard say "Hey, there's someone I want you to meet."

I cursed under my breath and slowly stood back up. I would probably make up the excuse that I lost my contact on the ground if he asked why I was crouching like a hunter. Gerard had led the unknown man into the kitchen where I was, and he smiled at me. I grasped onto my mug even tighter and offered a tentative wave in return.

"Winter, this is Frank." he introduced. I immediately recognized that name, it was the same Gerard told me when he confided with me in how he lost his best friend. So this was the guy..."Frank, this is Winter--my girlfriend."

"Hey." he reached a hand out for me to shake. It took me a second to register this, but when I did, I shyly reached out to shake it. His grip was firm, and he seemed almost excited to be meeting me.

"H-hi..."

"She's a little shy." Gerard chuckled, and stood next to me with a hand around my waist. I blushed and hid, or at least tried to hide my face behind the large mug. Frank chuckled as well and spoke again.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I like your sweater."

I gazed down at my outfit. I actually forgot that I was wearing this shirt.  _SINNERS ARE WINNERS_.

"Th-thank you." I stammered. "I-I'll be right back." I mumbled, set my cup down and waltzed into the living room where Mikey stood in awe. It seems he wasn't anticipating for this Frank's arrival either. I stood next to him and looked closely at his face for a moment. I could tell he was happy to see him, but he was also really taken aback and for good reason. I wonder if he was as close to Frank as Gerard is.

I hastily grabbed for my backpack, making sure the key they gave me was nice and snug in my pocket. I was about to head on out the door to give the boys some privacy. Someone really important just came back into their lives, I didn't want to intrude on them catching up or reconnecting or anything like that.

My hand barely made contact with the doorknob before I heard my lover's voice calling out to me from across the room. I turned back to him curiously.

"Where are you going?" he walked up to me and gently brushed my hand off the knob and leading me back inside.

"I-I just figured I'd give you guys some time alone. I wasn't s-sure if...you know..." I wasn't even sure where I was going with this sentence. Gerard shook his head and I quit talking real fast.

"Nonsense, Sugar! You just got here, we're not kicking you out. Besides, you practically live here now." he said sweetly, taking my backpack off me and setting it back onto the couch. He then kissed my lips quickly.

"I didn't know Gee had another girlfriend, or else I would have brought you something as well, so-" he cut himself off real quick.

"D-Don't worry about it, really-" I didn't get a chance to finish before he held out the bouquet of roses out for me to take. I almost gasped and carefully took them from his hands. "Th-thank you!"

"No problem," he smiled warmly at me, making me feel a bit less reserved. Frank had a way of making you feel like you've been best friends with him for years, and I can see why he and Gee clicked so well. 

The rest of the night was spent similarly to last night, my birthday. We listened to a bunch of our favorite music, watched a few cult classic Christmas films and sometimes had lip syncing battles with each other. Gerard and Frank both did a ballroom dance number to  _Time of My Life_ from  _Dirty Dancing._ Something which Mikey secretly recorded and whispered to me that he was so putting this up on YouTube. 

I also ended up warming up to Frank within a few hours. It could have been partly because he was just a really likeable person who anyone could easily get along with, or it could also be partly because I've been drinking whiskey laced eggnog with Mikey throughout the night. I'll admit, I was a little tipsy just like Okaasan had been before Brandon went home and I carried her to bed. He and I got to know each other, well, I got to know him. I didn't tell him much about me other than the basics; what kind of music I liked, or what type of career I was planning on pursuing once I graduated from Hastings Academy. I did tell him, though, that I wasn't planning on going off to an Ivy League school despite the prestigious Academy I was attending. I still wasn't sure about art school, though.

I returned back home later at around three in the morning. Gerard and Frank both escorted me their and made sure I was safely put into bed before they left once more to do their own thing. I fell asleep with a balmy sensation in my chest that later on bled into my dreams.


	27. Nights In White Satin

**Winter's POV**

The rest of our winter break was very pleasant if I do say so myself. I'm not sure how Gerard was passing the time when I wasn't around, but I spent the rest of my two week vacation hanging out with Brandon and growing closer to him as a friend, and then coming back here in the evenings to be with my two dorks. Well, I guess I should say three, now. Frank has been around a lot more, which I certainly don't mind. He's a cool person, and he's attempting to befriend me as well. He asks me about where I'm from, what I do, and what I plan on doing after I graduate from the Academy. I was honestly really taken aback when I learned that Frank knew I was Gerard's student, I would have thought he would call the authorities on him. Sleeping with your student is pretty illegal where I'm from. But I also learned that Frank was a Benign just like Gee, and I guess people(if you could call them that) like them didn't care much for the laws humans set up. Of course, they (the Benign's) didn't actively try and break every single one of them, but they also didn't think it was very important to abide by them either.

Maligns on the other hand...we couldn't say the same for. They didn't care about human laws, and it seemed they took enjoyment out of degrading them. But that's besides the point...

With all of this in mind, it didn't bother Frank in the slightest that I was a considerable amount of years younger than all of them. I'm assuming. I never actually learned how old Gerard was. I know Mikey is 24 right now, and Frank was just a year older. But when I got curious and asked Gerard about it, he shrugged and said he'd long since forgotten. I don't know how one could just forget how old they are, but I guess once you hit a certain amount of years, you just lose track. Guess that means he's pretty old then. I didn't mind though, it's definitely not the weirdest thing in my life.

It was one of the last days before winter break ended, and I decided to spend the day with the boys while Okaasan was at work. She has been getting way better at not totally neglecting me, now and I couldn't be more thankful. Of course, she's still busy a lot and there are still days where I barely get to see her. But she's attempting to make real conversations with me whenever she can, when she comes home she has started spending her down time with me instead of in front of a computer screen. She's even taken to singing me to sleep sometimes when my insomnia acted up particularly bad. To my surprise, it did help a lot and I found myself drifting off very easily.

Things with my mother were definitely improve now. I'm not sure what it was that caused this sudden change in attitude, but I wasn't complaining.

Thinking about this made me smile as I lay in bed next to Gee, his arms tightly wrapped around my waist and his face nearly buried into my bosom. I absentmindedly ran my fingers through his now bright red hair and hummed quietly. I haven't felt this harmonious in such a long time, it was refreshing to finally be able to calm down for once and let happiness be a part of me. After Naomi was killed, it became increasingly difficult for me to let anyone in. To let anyone be my friend, to let myself be happy. Part of it was because I didn't know what happiness felt like anymore, and part of it was because I was scared that if I let myself be happy, then something bad would happen again and I would be left back at square one. But my current lover has made me realize that you can get through these things. I might not have been left unscathed, but at least I'm alive. I must be fine, because my heart's still beating.

I closed my eyes slowly and let myself slip into the land of dreams once more. Only, they weren't dreams. They were memories. Memories I hope to never forget.

\-----

_It was the Christmas of 2012. It was around two or three in the morning, and I was curled up underneath a mountain of pillows and thick blankets. I was on the verge of passing out soon, when I heard a loud tapping against my window. I ignored it at first, but it just got more and more persistent the longer I disregarded it. I groaned and stretched out my body before I begrudgingly rose to my feet and approached my window. I pushed my satin curtains aside to see the smiling face of Naomi staring back at me, waving and motioning for me to let her in. I groaned again, rolled my eyes and opened up. She came barrelling inside covered in snow._

_"Would you keep it down!" I whisper shouted. "My mother is in the other room, she might hear you!"_

_"Well luckily for her, we_ 're  _not staying here for much longer!" she hummed and went into my closet, pulling out a heavy pea coat. She then threw it at me, and I caught it barely._

_"Ow! Wha-"_

_"Put it on, I'm taking you out!" Naomi then snatched up my hand and started leading me out the window._

_"I don't have any shoes!"_

_As soon as I said this, she reached down and snatched up my converse sneakers and clutched them to her chest. I didn't have a chance to protest before she was dragging me out of the window._

_"Naomi! What's going on, why are you-"_

_"We're going on an adventure!"_

_"God...!" I grumbled under my breath and slipped my arms through the pea coat she threw at me. I barely had the time to put my shoes on as well before she was taking my hand and making me run along with her. My skin felt like it was slowly freezing over, since I was still in my pajamas. I'm just lucky I decided to wear full pajama pants instead of my usual pajama shorts._

_She took me all over the city, insisting that we go into many different soda or candy shoppes. At first I was just wanting to go home and go back to sleep, since I never get much anyway. But after a while, her bubbly radiance infected me and I couldn't stay upset. A smile soon crept onto my lips and I let her take me wherever she pleased. Letting her take charge was nothing new and I also knew that it would never get old._

_We were in a convenience store, Naomi holding a basket in her arms filled with double shot espresso energy drinks and peppermint chocolates. We spend maybe four minutes in there before we were bursting back out the doors, ready for whatever the rest of the night had in store for us._

_"Where are we going now?" I asked her as she cracked open one of the espresso drinks, offering me a drink. I took the offer, handed it back to her and waited patiently for her response. For a moment, she just stood there in deep thought with her hand on her hips. I continued to stare at her, my attention having been fully snatched up by her presence. I found myself never wanting for this night to end already, and it hadn't even begun. That's how much of an effect this woman had on me. I simply couldn't get enough of it._

_"I have an idea!" she piped up, snatched my hand for the umpteenth time and I ran along with her until we were in what looked to be a more secluded area of New York. We were in a neighborhood, one I've never been to before, where the amount of people walking by were significantly lower. Everyone here was asleep, exhausted and ready for Christmas to end. But not Naomi. If it were up to her, it would have been Christmas every single day._

_"Are we going to peep into strangers windows?" I joked. She scoffed at my remark and instead replied with_

_"No, silly. Look!" she motioned with her arm to the houses surrounding us. I was about to ask her what was so special about them, when I stopped mid sentence and finally realized what she meant._

_It wasn't anything extraordinary by any means. It wasn't like looking at these peoples homes would somehow change your outlook on life because of their sheer beauty. But that wasn't why they were so enticing._

_The bright lights and decorations adorning them like jewels on a woman caught both of our attention. It wasn't normally something that would hypnotize a regular person. But we were far from being regular people. Neither of us really grew up in a home where Christmas was heavily celebrated. Actually, we never grew up in a home where we felt like we had a real family. It was something we severely lacked and wished we had. As if she was reading my mind, she began to speak; pulling the words right out of my mouth._

_"This could be us someday." she started. I turned slowly to gaze up at her, captivated by her light brown eyes. They were currently busy staring at all the bright lights around us, but they eventually turned to meet my gaze. "Just imagine us living in a house like this, drinking coffee late at night like we are now. Only we won't be sneaking out all the time. We'll have a home to call ours, and maybe....just maybe...we'll have a little baby running around with fluorescent red hair and beautiful brown eyes...just like yours._

" _I know we're way too young to start thinking about that but...just imagine it for a moment. Would it really be so bad?"_

_I thought about it for a second like she told me to. It really wouldn't be all that bad. In fact, if it was with her, it wouldn't be bad at all. I've never been fond of children that much and before I met her, the thought of having any of my own was not only terrifying but unappealing to the maximum. I certainly didn't want to spend the rest of my life cleaning up after a stupid child who would probably mooch off of us five years past the point of social acceptability. But she made me think of kids in a different light._

_First smile, first bath, first steps, first day at school, graduation, college...though I never liked kids, I would have them for her. I would gladly be the one to bear them for the both of us._

_"I love you." I said, for that was the only response I could come up with._

_"I love you, my little **cerise**." she said with a kiss to my cheek. I pulled her back in abruptly, not at all sated with just a peck. She complied to my non verbal demand and enveloped me into another one of her amazing passionate kisses. I tasted her on my tongue, and I wanted more..._

_Things were about to get more heated, I was on the verge of wrapping myself around her neck when she lightly pushed me back and I panicked for a moment before I hit a hill of snow. I sighed with relief, her on top of me yet I still smacked her in the shoulder. She only laughed at my attempts; I was never that strong in the first place. I could probably be dominated by twelve year old if I were being completely honest._

_"Naomi you dick!"_

_"I'm your dick~"_

_"Shut up you weird horny freak!" I squealed. She silenced me from my incessant cursing her name by leaning down, tapping me underneath her, and recapturing my lips with hers. When this happened, I completely forgot about the fact that she just shoved me into a giant pile of snow and now my entire backside was drenched. But I shrugged it off for now, I would get her back for it later tonight. For now, I was only paying attention to the way she tasted. Nothing else. Nothing else mattered._

_I slowly brought my cold hands up to her face, trying to bring her in closer. I'm glad there wasn't anyone walking through the streets of this neighborhood, because if they were, then they'd have to see me and my true love sucking face in the middle of the street. Even if they did see this, however, I don't think I would care much. That was the beautiful thing about our relationship._

_\-----_

Laying in bed next to my current lover, thinking about all of this...it brought tears my eyes.

But even though it saddened me to think that she's no longer with me today, It also brightened my outlook on the future for me and Gerard, and even for the other boys as well. I didn't know Frank that well quite yet, but I was confident that with time I would grow to view him in the same light as I do with Mikey.

"Mmm...." Gerard moaned in his sleep and nuzzled himself further into my chest. "...fuck you Duke Nukem..."

I furrowed my eyebrows and pursed my lips. He was dreaming about Duke Nukem? Of all things...?

Alright then.

I disregarded and instead stared at the top of his head from where I lay. I could barely make out the shape of his nose and his closed eyes. But I didn't need to look at him head on in order to know that he looked young and peaceful. That's one thing I've noticed about him. When he was asleep, he looked like he was in his early twenties at the oldest. I don't know if it's because of the lighting or if it was because when he slumbered he didn't have a care in the world. When you're asleep, nothing exists except for what you may be dreaming about. For the short amount of time that can feel like a few seconds or a few years, you don't have to worry about a single thing.

If I had the choice I would gladly live out the rest of my life in a dream. If you think about it, it's like heaven.

You're asleep, you can't feel pain. You can't die. You can be with your loved ones again, the ones you lost. The ones you thought you would only see in death.

Hell, I think even death would be a much better alternative than what we were given. I've often contemplated the idea of killing myself just so I didn't have to deal with any of this grief or agony. I wouldn't have to live with the constant knowledge that I failed to save my girlfriend. But then again, by now, I've found too much beauty in this life to just throw it away, leave it all behind.

The thought would always be there, that nagging little voice in the back of my head that hisses at me.

_Do it. Dooo it._

But I don't want to do that, at least not now. I think I'd like to stay alive if only for a little while longer just to see what was up ahead on the road. It's been pleasant so far. I've made a new friend, two friends, if you counted Frank. I found someone who reminded me of Naomi that I've come to fall in love with. Slowly, then all at once.

My relationship with Okaasan was getting better--so much better than it was before. All in all, I'm pretty content with the way things were starting to turn out. Of course, there were still problems like the whole mystery with Scapegrace. People were starting to think she's gone for good since she hasn't been spotted in so long. But I can say for sure that that is not the case.

There was also the problem with one of the Bratland twins, and them having it out for Gerard for reasons he couldn't understand. Yes, there were still these conflicts that have yet to reach their resolution. They're not like normal problems that a human would have to face. But that was okay. Despite all of this, I knew in my heart that things would turn out okay. I had Gerard after all. He's proven to me more than once that I mean more to him than just someone he can fuck whenever he wants. He takes me out on dates, he treats me like a damn queen. And I've been trying my best to treat him like the king that he is. He thinks I deserve to be spoiled all the time, but I don't agree with that. If anything, he should be the one to get spoiled rotten. He does so much for me, and he does so much for Mikey. He does so much for anyone he comes into contact with, really.

Thinking about this, I wrapped my arm around him even tighter and he seemed to reciprocate in his sleep. I grinned to myself and kissed the top of his head.

I am so in love with this man.


	28. Blood

**Gerard's POV**

Sigh. Winter vacation has ended finally, and I almost dreaded going back to work just as much as the students dreaded going back to school. But the vacation had to end eventually, right?

With another sigh, I managed to hop out of bed where Winter was still laying with the sheets tangled up with her skinny little legs. I chuckled, leaned over to brush the unkempt bangs away from her face, and kissed her temple. Her face scrunched up a bit in her sleep, and I chuckled again. I really didn't want to wake her up, she looked so peaceful and carefree right now. But I knew I had to, or else she'd be late for class. My class. How weird, if I didn't wake her, it would be my fault that she'd be late for MY class. Huh...

In any case, I gently shook her shoulder and whispered into her ear.

"Winter, baby, we have to get up."

"No..." she mumbled. I couldn't tell if she was still sleeping, or if she was awake by now. Either way, it was clear she wasn't exactly coherent at the moment. I shook her again, earning me an even louder groan. She slowly lifted her head up for a few seconds, staring at nothing, and then she face planted the pillow under her. I shook her a bit harder.

"Winter, honey, come on." I said gently. I didn't get a response at all this time. I exhaled deeply and decided to take a different approach. Instead of reaching over and shaking her shoulder, I instead backed up a bit, leaped to my feet, and sprawled myself across Winter's curled up body. She whined irritably underneath me and I knew she was fully awake by this point. Her voice grew louder and more shrill.

"Gerard you cunt! Get off!"

"Finally, you're awake!

"You're a dick!"

"I'm your dick~"

"Don't touch me!" she kicked me off of her and crawled out from under her canopy of sheets to get dressed. Since she's here a lot more often now that she has a key, I cleaned out some of my dresser so she didn't constantly have to lug around a giant duffle bag everywhere she went. She opened up one of the drawers and pulled out her uniform: black pleated skirt and her usual blouse. She was too tired and annoyed to bother with her hair, so she just sloppily brushed through it and left it down, and I think I liked it better that way. I loved her hair when it was up in a bun, but I loved it more when it was left free and unrestricted.

Once she was finished getting ready, which only took about five or ten minutes, I sneaked up behind her and landed my hands gingerly to her sides. I nuzzled myself into the crook of her neck, ignoring her lame attempts at batting me away. She eventually just gave up and turned around to give me a kiss on the lips.

"You're a fucking asshole, I hope you know that."

"But I love youu!"

"Shut up."

After brushing our teeth and having our daily morning cup of steaming black coffee, we were off to the Academy. We had to go our separate ways, because her mother would be knocking at her bedroom door soon in order to wake up and take her to school. I offered to drive her there, but she declined saying that It wasn't that far away. I reluctantly let her go and drove straight to the Academy myself. Luckily, I arrived there early enough so that there weren't many students around for me to deal with quite yet, and much to my surprise, Winter arrived there around the same time. Her mother must have broken fifteen traffic rules in order to get her here, but then again, I can be a slow driver sometimes, so that might have something to do with it.

She was sitting on the ground a few feet away from the door just like she was the first time I saw her. Only, her sketchbook was still somewhere in her satchel and in its place was her phone in her hands. I bet she was texting her friend, what was his name again? Brandon? I'm pretty sure it was Brandon. I recognized that kid as soon as she told me about him. I have him for one of my later after noon classes. I didn't know much about the kid, other than the fact that he had a skateboard with him everywhere he went, and he often times got himself into trouble for riding in indoors. He was a bit of a troublemaker, but I never had a problem with him personally in my class. At least, nothing more major than him sometimes not paying attention. But even then, it didn't bother me that much.

All in all, I'm glad he's decided to befriend Winter. I think she really needed it. I know she's got me, Mikey and Frank now as well. But she needed someone her own age to hang out with sometimes. I don't know why she always decided to hang out with us old people all the time.

"Hey there stranger." I winked as I approached her. I grabbed my keys from my pocket and started to unlock the door. She stood as well and thwacked me upside my head. I ceased in my movements for a moment and grimaced.

"Ow!"

"I'm pretty sure you broke my spine, you twat!"

"What are you, Dan Howell?"

*thwack*

"Ow! Damn woman, you pack a hard hit! Where did you learn that from?"

"Shut up and kiss me dammit."

I didn't hesitate in the slightest before leaning down and pulling her into a kiss, just like she said. She tasted like the mint flavored tooth paste she used this morning as well as the dark coffee we had. I had to say, it was a taste I don't think I could ever get sick of. She was like my own heroin. I was addicted, I couldn't ever get enough. But I definitely didn't mind.

"Let's head inside, shall we?" I smiled a crooked smile at her. For the first time since I basically body slammed her this morning, she grinned back up at me. I think it was safe to assume she wasn't mad at me anymore.

I unlocked the door and opened it, letting her walk in first. She walked backwards inside and spoke.

"You're lucky I don't castrate you, you devil." she winked. I rolled my eyes and stepped inside after her. Almost as if it were planned, we both scrunched our faces in disgust as we were both hit with a smell worst than anything I've ever come across in my entire life. It smelled something like a ten year old rotten block of vieux boulogne cheese covered in the contents of a clogged toilet. My eyes watered at the odor.

"Did you just shit yourself!?" Winter shrieked while covering her nose with her hoodie sleeve. I was about to retort back with something even sassier, when my eyes trailed off to the white board behind us, and my face paled at the sight. For the first time since I was a child, bolts of fear stroke through my chest, causing for my hands to tremble.

There was a corpse hanging just above the white board, shoe-less feet dangling as the whole thing dripped with fresh blood. It stained the floor and the whiteboard in which it was nailed in front of. It looked like a female student, only because of the more feminine figure it possessed. But...she didn't have a fucking face.

All of the skin from her face was peeled off nearly down to the bone. Past the pulsing red meat and tendons, underneath I could see sections of white--her skull. And what's worse, both her eyes were hanging from her sockets, still connected by the optic nerve. I could just barely make out her once green pupils, both of them having been scratched out. There were also various other claw and scratch marks dispersed all over her skin. Some of them were rather deep and still bleeding. And last but most certainly not least, on the white board, written in blood, it said "THIS IS YOUR FATE." in all caps. Whoever it was clearly wanted to send a message. I don't know if it was for me, or not. But I did know this: it has Scapegrace written all over it.

Winter saw me staring, horrified at the scene before me. She followed where my eyes had landed and saw for herself just how grotesque the scene was. It took me a moment to register what was happening, and to realize that I didn't want her to see something like this. I was too late, though. Within seconds, an ear shattering shriek escaped her throat and she staggered back, blinded by the sight. I instantly grabbed her hand in mind and yanked her back out of the room with me. I made sure to shut the door behind us, so neither me or her had to look at the corpse for any longer.

As soon as we were outside the classroom door, we saw Mr. Dun running out from his own room with an alarmed gaze.

"What's going on!?"

"CALL THE POLICE!" I screamed at him. He struggled to quickly retrieve his phone from his pocket and fumbled with the keypad for a moment before punching in the numbers and pressing the phone to his ear. I shouted at him that there was a dead body of a student hanging on the white board with nails impaled in her wrists like she was being crucified. Not to mention there was blood splattered on my desk as well, like she had her skull slammed into the wood until her forehead caved in.

While he was on hold with the operator he took a second to peep in through the little window in the door and see just what we were freaking out about. His jaw dropped and he nearly dropped the phone to the tile floor. I pulled him away from the door because he seemed to be in a trance, staring into it, horrified tears cascading down his face.

"What the fu...WHAT THE-" he let out a loud guttural scream and I almost had to cover my ears; it was so loud. The rest of the teachers who were in the lego building as well as a dozen or so students who wanted to see what all the commotion was about. Mr. Dun was busy trying to keep any of said students from peering inside, seeing that fucking monstrosity

Of course, school was cancelled that day and there was a team of police officers, detectives and paramedics infesting the whole building, searching for anymore evidence of this heinous crime. Everyone was so distracted with the situation at hand, that no one noticed when I led Winter down to the parking lot and started pulling her into a tight hug. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, tears nearly pricking at her waterline. I shushed her calmly and rubbed her back soothingly.

"What. the FUCK. Was that...!?" she exclaimed rather than cried.

"I-I..." I trailed off. I contemplated keeping this to myself, but then I remembered what I told her a few weeks ago the night I was attacked by one of the Bratland twins. I still would like to know which one it was, but I guess I'll never know. Or I might, who knows. Either way, there wasn't a point in keeping this a secret from her. She already knew everything about the Benigns and the Maligns. Why should I not tell her this?

"I'm almost certain this has something to do with Scapegrace."

"S-Scapegrace?" she stammered.

"Who else would it be? It's gotta be her, she's been going after students specifically ever since the school year started. Only students. It's the only logical explanation."

"But weren't you theorizing not too long ago that she was a Malign hunter?"

"Apparently not! You saw that back there, that was not a Malign!"

"It could have been." she suggested. I shook my head at that.

"No. A fucking fourteen year old? I knew her! Not personally, but I had her in my class--she was NOT a Malign!"

"Okay! You don't have to yell..."

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose with my thumb and pointer finger. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to yell at you," I apologized. I really didn't, I wasn't yelling at her. "This is just...I-I don't know." I felt her hand gently lay itself on my arm, calming me slightly. She stared up at me with those wide, familiar manga eyes. For a hot second, I completely forgot about the dead body that was found in my classroom.

Later on, they asked both Winter and I separately to answer some questions about what he found. I wasn't sure about her, but they asked me things like if I knew of someone who didn't like the female student, I learned her name was Sandra. I told them the truth, I told them everything I knew. I didn't make any mentions of Scapegrace, though I'm sure the detectives were thinking of her in the back of their mind. Everyone was at this point. I even heard students around me as I was re-exiting the campus gossiping about how this was the doing of that psychotic criminal/vigilante wannabe.

I came back outside to see Winter on the phone with who I'm presuming to be her mother, or her  _Okaasan_ as she called her. I could very faintly hear her mother's voice radiating from the speaker, laced with solicitude.

"No, I'm fine--I'm not hurt. Yes, I promise...I mean, it was a petrifying sight, but I'm not hurt...no, they took me in for questioning for a bit. Y-...Yes...I-I'm okay...okay...I'll see you in a bit." she bid her a goodbye before hanging up and turning to me. She sighed as if she had just had a hard day's work and not just walked in to see a dead girl hanging in front of the white board.

"Is your mom coming to pick you up?"

"Yeah, she's cutting her day at work short to come and pick me up."

"Alright..." I went quiet, staring at my feet and the dirty concrete. She seemed to sense that something was wrong, and she turned to stand in front of her. Her cold, soft hand cupped my cheek, almost examining me.

"Gerard." she said my name. I looked down at her beautiful, mesmerizing brown eyes. I could have sworn that if I looked at them in a certain light, they looked red. "Still thinking about Scape?"

I nodded. "How could I not?" I started. "It's gotta be her. And..."

She pursed her lips. "And what?" she asked with a kind voice.

"And what if she comes after you?" I blurted out. She sighed tiredly and closed her eyes for a brief moment.

"That won't happen."

"How could you know that?"

"You're right." she said. "I don't know that for sure, but even on the off chance that she does, I'm not just some fragile glass doll. Okay? I might not look like I can, but I do know a few ways to defend myself. I'm not completely defenseless."

"I don't think you're defenseless, but I do think--no, I  _know_ that Scape is fucking dangerous. She's crazy, she's mad, and she's also capable of taking off someone's head with just her bare hands. You saw those news reports not too long ago! She beheaded that punk kid!" 

Instead of trying to argue with me, she only leaned closer and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Don't worry too much about me."

"I have to."

"No you don't."

"Winter-"

"For once, think about protecting yourself, think about protecting Mikey. I'm not the only one who needs to be watched over. Not that I need to be watched over at all."

I pursed my lips as well and nodded reluctantly, although in my mind I was completely disregarding her words. I know Mikey was somewhat vulnerable as well, and maybe I would be more worried about him if it weren't for the fact that every single person Scapegrace has killed in the last five months has been a student. Not just any student, a student from Hastings Academy. Since then, a total of six of them have gone missing and later turned up dead. And as far as I knew, none of them were Maligns. I was now starting to think that my earlier theory of her being a Benign wasn't applicable.

Yes, it was still very baffling to me that she attacked the Bratland twin, saved my life, and let me live. But then again, I'm not a student. I'm a teacher. That could very well be the reason I lived to tell the tale. Maybe she had some sort of vendetta against the people who attended this school for reasons no one was aware of. Whatever the case may be, I didn't fucking trust it.

Her mother showed up about five minutes later to pick Winter up. She saw me standing next to her and rolled the window down. Inside, I saw a woman who was similarly built like Winter. Her eyes were the same color, skin nearly just as pale, and short red auburn red hair parted to the side and combed neatly. She looked a bit frazzled though that was completely understandable. She just got a call from her daughter saying someone's dead body was found in the classroom. She looked at me and if I didn't know any better, I'd think she was shooting me daggers. But I knew that was just her tired and beyond worried expression.

"Thank you for staying with my daughter, Mr..." she waited for me to tell her my name.

"Way, I'm Gerard Way." I introduced. She extended her hand out for me to shake and I did so politely.

"It was nice meeting you, sir. I-I'm afraid we'll have to be going, though."

"Of course, I hope you two ladies have a better day." I smiled despite that I wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep the day off. My heart was still racing in my chest because of the gruesome sight we discovered. Oh just wait until Frank and Mikey hear about this.

I stayed true to my word throughout the next few months with Winter. There wasn't a night that went by when I wasn't with her. Either I spend the night in her room, or she spent the night with me at our apartment. Frank has even taken to looking out for her whenever he could. Whenever I was out late grading papers or running errands in general, he and Mikey teamed up to make sure nothing bad happened to her while I was gone. It was even more unnerving however, because Scapegrace's antics kept getting worse with each new horror story we heard from her. More and more students have gone missing, more and more of then being found dead. Many of them were found in the most malformed state one could possibly think of. It gave me nightmares, in all honesty. Because one of these days, if I weren't careful enough, that could be Winter.


	29. Camisado

With the amount of students going missing being at an all time high by now, Scapegrace was out on the prowl once again. She wasn't very easy to spot, but for some people, the bright red of her respirator mask stuck out like a sore thumb and they pointed up at her like she was some kind of majestic bird. Just as she always had been, she remained aloof and indifferent to the civilians below. Their shouts and exclaims up toward her had virtually no effect on her. It was like they didn't even exist.

Her eyes scanned the city, searching--for what? No one could know. They could only assume she was out on the hunt again for innocent students to murder. She was the only one who could have been responsible for the death of Ronald, Aaron, Sandra and so many more. It would only make sense that she was out to do the same thing once more.

For a long while, Scapegrace stayed in the same gargoyle like position atop what looked to be a church building. Her knees were bent and her hands clutched onto the concrete right in between them. The only thing that was missing were her giant three foot long demonic wings splayed out for everyone to see and fear. But everyone knew she didn't need wings like that to strike horror into everyone who laid their eyes upon her.

Soon, her mindless gaze was caught by something of more interest than the usual strolling around and meandering of the citizens below. Her dark red, glowing, eyes narrowed when she caught sight of someone who was eerily familiar to her. Someone who she had chased off, and been chased off by on multiple occasions. More than she could count at this point.

Fucking Damian.

She spotted him from all the way on top of the building and instantly sprung into action. Like a demented kangaroo, she leaped off of the building and propelled herself toward where Damian was; in one of the intersections about to rip the throat out of some poor business woman who had been previously arguing with someone over the phone. Probably her husband.

Much to her dismay, she landed in front of him, boots shaking the ground, after he had successfully drained the poor woman of all her vital fluid. Damian lifted his head to look at her. She cringed slightly at the thick blood dribbling from his teeth and chin. He looked like a damn zombie, she could even make out some specks of flesh still stuck in between his teeth. He sneered at her, making the gruesome sight look even more deranged. With a heartless chuckle, he began to speak in that deep, psychotic sounding timbre.

"Hello old friend," he snickered. "Here to save the day? Ha!" He threw the woman's dead body off to the side and turned his full attention to the criminal/vigilante before him. "You should know by now that never works. That's why super heroes are only seen in works of  _fiction_. And you are not a superhero. You're just a bitch in a red mask who thinks she's all tough because she can throw a half decent punch."

Scapegrace shook her head and then came back to make eye contact with him, giving him an evil glare. He returned that same glare and sauntered forward, almost like he was going to attack, but he faltered. Something in the back of his mind told him not to go drop kicking her out of nowhere just yet. He didn't see her bearing any weapons, no dagger or pocket knife was visible. But he wasn't stupid. He knew that she wouldn't just show up empty handed. That was majorly out of character.

"What's your deal, huh?" he nudged his chin in her direction and spit at her feet. She paid it no mind and instead, reached into the inside pocket of her jacket and pulled out a black glock. Damian's eyes widened as she pointed it straight at him and without a seconds hesitation, she pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, the bullet had failed to hit him for he had seen this coming the moment he saw her reach into her inside pocket. He jumped to his feet and flipped his body backwards, avoiding the metallic pellets. She pulled the trigger again, and again, and again and every single time he pulled the same move. He back flipped all the way away from her until the clip of ammunition had emptied entirely.

Damian looked her straight in the eye as Scapegrace struggled to discard the empty ammunition clip and retrieve another one from her inside pocket as well. He reached down into his hoodie pocket and took out a tri-dagger. The blade twisted and curved dangerously, causing for anyone who laid their eyes upon it to shiver. This bad boy was capable of doing more damage than the average knife. It was the kind of knife that if it were to penetrate/impale you, it would take a full team of surgeons to try and reseal the wound. But more often than not, you'd bleed out to death within a mere few minutes.

He swung the weapon once on the air for a moment and took to sprinting at her at full speed. She had the new ammo clip in her hands, ready to reload when Damian came too close for comfort. She knew he would have the upper hand real quick here if she didn't take action rather quickly. And so that is what she did. She rolled herself out of the way, landing swiftly on her feet and realized that the new clip she was about to use had been knocked out of her grip. Damian kicked it away and she pulled out yet another one. It slid perfectly into the empty chamber and once more she began pointing and shooting at him with lightning speed. This time, instead of contorting his body into another backwards flip to dodge the bullets, he used his tri-dagger to swing and deflect them away. The speed of his arms matched perfectly with the speed at which Scapegrace pulled the trigger. She tried aiming and shooting at different angles to try and get him tangled up, but it never worked. He had the reflexes of a ninja, none of the bullets so much as grazed him.

Not long after he started using his blade to deflect them, the ammunition clip had run out once more and Scape certainly wasn't going to try and dive for the one Damian knocked out of her hands. Instead, she threw the empty chambered firearm to the side and reached for the holster along her outer thigh. It hadn't dawned on Damian until now that she had been carrying something else. He gulped slightly at the thought of it, but managed to keep his tough facade up nevertheless. She reached into the holster and instead of pulling out another one of her signature daggers, it was a foot long dark, already blood stained machete.

Without another word, the two sworn enemies charged at each other with intentions to kill. Their blades clashed together, as if they were engaged in some sort of fencing match. Many times, Scapegrace would swipe her machete at his head, intending to cut it off completely, but luckily every single time something like this happened, he managed to duck down just in time to just feel the silver weapon ever so slightly grazing over the hairs on top of his head. His heart raced as she came to close to cutting him open, dangerously close. He cursed himself for not bringing a larger melee. Sure, the tri-dagger was lethal and was capable of taking out dozens of angry men if he really wanted. But the simple fact of the matter is, Scape had the upper hand here. At this point, it was quantity over quality. If he wasn't careful enough, he would be on the ground with blood pouring out of him like a waterfall.

It was about five minutes of this; weapons crashing together and making a high pitched clanging noise that echoes around and into the ears of the poor citizens watching. Just as Damian felt himself about to surrender, give up, Scapegrace had walloped her machete upwards diagonally, just narrowly missing his torso. While her arm was raised up in the air, Damian took this small opportunity to reach downwards and swing his tri-dagger right for her stomach. The tip of the knife barely scratched her abdomen, though it sliced through her hoodie, exposing her small, toned middle. He caught sight of a few drops of blood dripping down past the hem of her jeans. It wasn't nearly enough to do any significant damage. She leaned herself backwards and before he had a chance to comprehend it, she pulled a similar move that he would have and flipped her body backwards, legs splaying up in the air. She had just done a back flip; and as she did so, both of her feet smacked right into his hand, knocking his weapon away while also striking the bottom of his chin.

Ye yelled in pain, then stumbled back, momentarily disoriented. He shook his head, trying to calm down his fuzzed mind. He regained his vision from that blinding attack in time to see that insane criminal coming right for him again. She propelled herself off from a crouching position and swiped for the millionth time with her large melee. The edge of the blade nearly came through his throat and beheading him. He almost pulled a matrix right then and bent back, almost like he was doing the limbo. The machete had missed him thankfully, and Scape was about to attack again, when he shot out his arm and caught her wrist with his hand in a vice type grip. He heard a grunt come from beneath her mask and smirked.

"Fucking weak little girl!"

He then spun her body around so her back was to him, twisting her arm behind her back as well. Then, to make sure she couldn't regain the upper hand, he mercilessly kicked her foot from under her, forcing her to kneel. One knee was on the ground while the other foot was still in a standing position. She was still left immobile and unable to get away, at least that's what he thought. She may have been an extremely skilled fighter, but one fatal flaw of her was that she was small. If he didn't know any better he'd say she was only about thirteen years old. If it weren't for all those intimidating weapons she carries around, she would be extremely easy to take advantage of. With this in mind, he took his own knee and dug it into her lower back, making her torso contort into an awkward position. Her chest was leaning back towards his stomach while her bottom half of her torso was craned forward.

"Why don't you go just go home and-HNGH!" Damian made an awkward sound at the back of his throat when he felt his grip on her wrist loosen without his consent. She wrenched herself away from him with unbelievable strength and quickly rose back to a standing position. She twirled around on her heels, looking to attack him, get her revenge for humiliating her like that, but as soon as she did, she was met with a closed fist to the center of the eyes. It was blinding enough to where she staggered again and collapsed onto her back. He wasted no time, he would not allow for her to get up.

Damian jumped up and aimed to land himself with both of his legs going on either side of her hips. Things hadn't gone according to plan however when Scapegrace took her machete and pointed it upwards. The tip stuck out, sharp and pointy and ready to be used. He didn't have enough time to move out of the way before his chest was impaled by the thing.

"F-FUCK!!" he screamed. He instinctively ripped himself away, making the bleeding wound only increase in flow. He was so taken off guard that he couldn't do much when the criminal underneath him flipped them over so she was on top. She gripped the machete's handle with both of her hands and raised it high above her head. She was more than ready to split his skull in half with the deadly object. She brought her arms down at full speed, but before it could hit his forehead, Damian caught it with his bare hand. It sliced through the skin of his hand and he winced but didn't let go because to let go meant to die. And he couldn't have that.

He used his inhuman brawn to rip the machete out of her grasp when she failed to take it out of his hand. Blood dribbled all over him, but he didn't seem to care much. God knows he's experienced even worse pain than this. This was nothing.

She was the one taken off guard this time, and he managed to wiggle his feet out and kicked her with both legs in the chest. This knocked the wind out of her and sent her flying a good six feet away from him. Damian stood, still holding the machete by the blade and glared in her direction. He opened his palm wide, dropping the weapon and examined his hand. His skin started to seal together once more, the cut slowly disappearing until it was nothing but a small scratch much smaller than the initial wound. It was nothing more than a measly paper cut at this point, and he grinned at this. All of the blood was still there, but that didn't matter.

Scapegrace watched this happen as well, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. Was there anyway to take this cocky son of a bitch down?

"Perks of being the king," he bragged. Suddenly, Scapegrace's eyes went from narrowed to wide and frightened.

Did he just say king?

He straightened himself out and stood up straight, back erect. His bright blue eyes glowed brightly in the dim night and much to Scape's confusion, the ground started trembling underneath her. By now, a squad of police cars had showed up, ready to diffuse this battle. But neither opponents care a damn. They were nothing.

"You should listen to my advice before it's too late. Go home."

Scape's eyes returned to normal, holding that fierce and fiery glint. Her arms raised, hands forming into fists, clearly showing that she wasn't going to back down. She would not run away like he has so many times already.

"Fine then, if that's how you wanna play..." Damian cracked his neck, and then his knuckles. Scapegrace was anticipating for him to come charging at her again, and she readied herself to roll out of the way. But he never came for her, at least not directly. The trembling in the ground only increased and so did the befuddlement. What was this?

The glowing in her opponents eyes grew brighter and just as that was happening, gigantic slabs of concrete flew out from the ground, starting where he stood. It was an oceanic wave of asphalt, concrete and anything else in his path. It all flew up, creating a hurricane of destruction. It flew up into the air, and Scapegrace started sprinting away in the opposite direction.

The wave of deadly debris was coming right for her, and as she ran, a lone police officer stood there with his gun poised and ready to shoot. But he was frozen in his spot, paralyzed with fear. Tears were coming down his cheeks and it was clear he wouldn't move on his own. Scapegrace ran right into him, his torso going over her shoulder and she basically carried him off to the side. She rolled the both of them behind a truck, the dross and debris slowly came to a halt about fifteen feet past the truck. Scape and the police officer were left unscathed, although the police man was shaking violently in the presence of who New York deemed to be the most insane criminal in existence at the moment. He shakily pointed his pistol at her face.

"F-Freeze!" he stuttered out. Scapegrace rolled her deep red eyes and reached down to her abdomen where Damian had previously cut. The bleeding wasn't nearly as bad as it was before, and by now the cut was much smaller. She had the same ability that Damian had when it came to regeneration, although to a much slower degree. She was still very much susceptible to fatal wounds.

She wiped the blood from said wound and used it to pain along the white of the truck in which they hid behind. The terrified officer watched as she spelled out the words for him, petrified to see what they had to say.

"I'M TRYING TO KEEP YOU ALIVE DUMBASS" she spelled out. She sometimes had to use her finger like an ink pen and dip it back in for more 'ink' in order to keep spelling. The cop switched gazes between the words and the criminal/vigilante who just saved his life. He couldn't believe what this insane woman just told him. She was trying to keep him safe? But that didn't make a lick of sense. She was a criminal out for blood, why would she be worried about protecting a police officer like him? Shouldn't she be trying to kill him?

The policeman didn't have the time to contemplate this much longer before his gun was ripped out of his hands. Scapegrace checked to make sure it was fully loaded, and it was. He hadn't even shot one bullet, he must be a rookie.

Scapegrace took to writing in her own blood once more along the truck.

"STAY" it read in all caps. She raised an eyebrow at the poor man, as if asking if he understood. He nodded very slowly, to which she grunted and stood up on her feet when she heard Damian's heavy footsteps coming closer. She aimed at him with the pistol from behind the truck and pulled the trigger. The first bullet managed to hit him in the shoulder, but much to her dismay, not even a flinch was to be seen from him. It was like he hadn't just been shot. His head snapped in her direction and this time, she aimed for in between his eyes.

Damian didn't move a single muscle, yet the bullet stopped in mid air, merely inches away from his face. Was this yet another perk of being the king?

Scape tried shooting an abundance of times, but each bullet froze in the same spot until the entire clip was gone. She retreated back behind the truck, still able to hear that bastard's footsteps. She turned to the cop, extending her hand out as if asking for something. He tilted his head in confusion for a moment until she waved the gun around a bit, and pulled the trigger toward the ground. He nearly screamed and jumped back, thinking she was about to kill him. But nothing came out of the barrel. He sighed with relief.

"M-More ammo."

Scapegrace nodded.

He fumbled to reach into his belt and pull out a fresh clip. She took it quickly, reloading at lightning speed and then turning back to the poor man. She suddenly grabbed his upper arm and forced him to stand with her. He screamed a short scream before she shushed him and started running, with him at her side. She made sure to keep him away from the sidewalk as she shot at Damian until she ran out of bullets once more. The entire time, only one bullet had grazed his body, obviously not enough to do any damage.

Scapegrace and the cop turned a sharp corner, where she was about to shove him away before Damian used his weird telekinesis ability to make heavy trash and rubbish come hurdling toward them. Scapegrace tackled the cop to the ground and shielded his body with her own, keeping him from getting injured. He yelled out a guttural yell until Scape felt the debris cease in its abuse against her back. She got up, taking him with her again and pointed around the corner. He stared at her with wide eyes until she seemed to grow fed up. A growl emitted from the back of her throat, and the presence of her mask over her face distorted it, making it sound almost demonic.

Fitting.

"...run..." she hissed. He stumbled a bit, but soon gained his balance and sprinted away just like she told him to do.

Once she was sure the civil servant was gone, she turned back to see Damian coming right for her. He was focused on making the broken sections of asphalt and cement attack her. He watched as it seemed to swallow her up whole, and there was nothing left but a giant pile of the stuff. She must have been buried in it. He smirked at this and started to walk closer, using his mind to brush away the cement. He was expecting to find Scape half deformed underneath all of the debris, maybe drained of all her blood. But the deeper he 'dug', the more he realized...she wasn't there.

Confused and a little pissed off, he turned sharply on his heel and scanned the area, only to be met with a team of SWAT officers pointing heavy guns at him. They ordered for him to put his hands up, surrender. But of course he didn't listen to them. He maliciously glared at them with evil intent, head tilting down and eyes beginning to glow again. They repeated their commands, but they were met with more of the concrete and cement flying at them like a hail of bullets. It crippled them all, and he's pretty certain he ended up killing nearly half of them. By this point, the entire block was devoid of all human life, not even Scapegrace was making her presence known. He sneered. She probably ran off like a damn coward.

He growled under his breath and shook his head. He then started making his way back out of the city when he heard a peculiar noise.

Something came rolling at him, and stopped at his feet. He looked down in time to see it was a can that almost looked like a grenade, but it wasn't a grenade. He knew this because dark red smoke started pouring out of it. He was about to turn and run away from it when two more came his way and twice the smoke attacked him. His eyes immediately started watering and he began to cough and hack violently. Soon, the smoke blinded him from seeing and breathing. He felt like he was in a dust storm, for he couldn't even open his eyes without it burning him.

He wanted to scream and curse when he felt a weight crashing into him, knocking him onto his side. He knew it was his arch enemy, Scape. But this time, she wasn't unarmed. She had her machete back in her hands, but he couldn't see that of course. Scape's eyes were protected with a pair of dark, tinted goggles, and she maneuvered carefully through the dense smoke.

She swung the blood stained machete down at him, hitting him point bank in the side. He screamed as he felt the weapon dig into him rib cage. She yanked it back out and hit him again in the same place, nearly chopping him in half. He had enough sense to roll over, but that only seemed to worsen the agony.

To make things worse, Scapegrace's foot kicked ruthlessly right into his wound, and they could both hear the slurping wet sounds of the blood and flesh. The next time she swung her weapon down on him, she went right for his neck, hacking away, never stopping until his head went rolling away from his body. He wasn't dead, though. She could see that by the fact that his body crawled helplessly and his head still yelled out in agony and frustration.

"YOU LITTLE FUCKING CUNT! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!"

Damian's body managed to locate the missing head and placed it over his open, bleeding neck. The skin promptly went to work in reattaching itself and soon, it was like it hadn't been just cut off.

He was still hacking like a sick elderly, and he staggered and stumbled until he finally emerged from the storm created by those smoke bombs she ambushed him with. He'll admit, he hadn't seen that one coming. What else could she possibly have in store for him?

He had to get out of here before he found out.


	30. Not Listening

**Frank's POV**

I didn't know all that much about this Scapegrace character, but based on the articles I've read and what Gerard has told me, she isn't someone you want to cross. I guess there has been another attack from her a few weeks ago. Only this time around, she wasn't the one responsible for the majority of the damage. According to witnesses, the student she attached had completely decimated an entire city block with nothing but his mind. Normally, I would definitely question the credibility of those news sources, but I got to see the devastation first hand. The road had been torn to shreds, totaled vehicles flipped upside down and turned on their sides were seen every five feet. It looked like the work of Godzilla.

Luckily, most of the damages have been repaired at this point. But the weirdest part about this whole situation was that Scapegrace actually saved someone. No one had ever heard of her doing something like that; she wasn't out to save lives, she was out to take them. So this just didn't make any sense.

The police officer that was interviewed said the only thing she did was call him a dumbass, take his gun, and then threw him out of the way of danger. She was a little bit of a cunt, but she saved his life.

If you were to ask me, I'd say she wasn't all that bad, just misunderstood. I understand she has been only going after students since the beginning of the school year--high school students. But I'd say she has a good reason for doing so. Maybe they're all Maligns incognito. It wouldn't be that difficult to believe. Gerard certainly seems to disagree, he's convinced she's pure evil and I suppose I can see why. But once Gerard makes up his mind about something, it's borderline impossible to change it. That's why I don't even try most of the time. But I'll be damned if I let our differing opinions rip us apart again.

I'm not sure what Winter's stance on this issue was yet. I think she's still a little weary of me. I mean, the first time we met, she hid behind a counter and almost left. I have to admit though, I found it adorable more than anything. I can see why Gerard fell in love with her. Hell, I'm almost envious of him.

The one time I tried to ask her what her stance was, she shrunk back and made up an excuse to leave the room. If it were any other person I would have viewed something like this as rude. I mean, it is. But I could understand why-- she was nervous. I've done much worse to escape nerve wracking-really just slightly uncomfortable at the most-situations. I was even worse when I was her age. I once misjudged the distance and elbowed a girl in the face when I tried to put my arm around her. She ended up with a bloody nose. Needless to say, I don't go on too many dates these days.

She's been starting to warm up to me a bit more now that I've been hanging around Gerard and Mikey a lot more. I've learned she's basically a more timid version of Gerard himself. She smokes  like him, drinks like him, and curses like him. I'm almost convinced she's another version of him from a  different universe. 

I was lucky enough to be able to join them today on a mini expedition through New York. Gerard was pulling on his overcoat while Winter was busy lacing up her boots when she timidly offered for me to tag along. I was about to decline, saying I didn't want to intrude on their date, but Gerard insisted I come with them. Mikey was stuck at work and I would have been all alone anyway. It would only make sense in their eyes. He looked at me with hopeful eyes, and I gave in then. He cheered happily and soon enough, we found ourselves making our way down the chilly streets. Thin patches of snow and ever once in a while, a snowflake would land itself upon my red nose and I would always see how long I could keep it on there before it blew away or melted entirely.

"Isn't that where Mikey works?" Winter asked as we passed a Zia's Records down by the corner. Gerard's face lit up when she pointed this out and not even five seconds later, exclaimed--

"Let's go in!" 

"Gerard, are you su-"

"Yes! You comin' or what?" he didn't even give either of us a chance to respond before he snatched both of our hands and basically dragged us inside where we were met with the comforting warm air and the sound of Green Day playing in the background. The place wasn't too crowded, luckily enough for us. There were maybe five or six people here at the most. Mikey was perched at the counter with his elbows supporting his weight and a manga book opened in front of him. He was clearly bored. 

While Gerard was coming with a plan to bother his stoic younger brother, Winter got distracted and instead wandered off to the indie/alternative section. I quietly went off in a different direction and instead went towards the much smaller books section. Surprisingly enough, they had a wide variety of paper backs to choose from. I skimmed over a book that had something to do about being hungry and playing games, and then another one by John Green about kids with cancer. One book that really caught my eye, however, was one by the name of  _Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance_. I smirked knowingly to myself. 

Just then, I felt a smaller presence to my right. I glanced down to see Winter was looking curiously at the book I was holding. I smiled at her, and she managed a small smile back up at me. She tilted her head.

"Have you read that one?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, it's not a bad read..." I trailed off. As I continued to stare at the cover. A sudden thought popped in my head, and I spoke with a leisurely tone. "Y'know...I've always wanted to be in a band."

She cocked her head to the side, interested. "Really?" 

"Yeah...Life just had different plans for me I guess. Wasn't meant to be." 

Winter pursed her lips for a moment and looked to be in deep thought. "Playing in a band would be a dream come true." 

This peaked my interest rather quickly. Was she a music nerd as well?

"Really?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted to be in one. I haven't found the right people to play with, though."

Interesting...I set the book back down and turned to look at her as she glanced over a copy of  _Hamlet_. I examined her profile and imagined her holding a guitar instead of a book. Gerard mentioned something a while back about her being a really good guitarist. Ideas's starting bouncing around inside my skull and suddenly, it was like I could hear a whole mirage of clashing drums and heavy guitars. I smiled at this; I would love for nothing more than to be a part of something that beautiful. 

"What would you name your band?" I asked. She took a long moment to think, tapping her foot and crossing her arms over her chest. She eventually piped back up again with a small, almost unsure voice.

"Hmm...I don't know...I've thought about Bleach Party, The Dollars, but..." she examined the book I was still holding once more. A light bulb seemed to go off in her mind and her eyes brightened up slightly. " _My Chemical Romance_  doesn't sound too bad..."

_My Chemical Romance._

It was definitely a catchy title...I could just imagine it in my mind, My Chemical Romance going on tour, people wearing My Chemical Romance t-shirts, buying My Chemical Romance albums. It warmed my heart, just thinking about it.

"MCR. I like it."

"Why don't you make it happen?"

I stared down at her and set the book back on the shelf. I opened my mouth to answer her, abut to say something like how it wasn't what life had planned for me. But then in that split second, it got me thinking. Why didn't I pursue this dream? It's not like I'm an eighty year old man on his death bed, it wasn't like I didn't have enough time. I was barely in my mid twenties, I had years upon years to chase after this ambition. So why not just do it? Why shove it to the side like I have been for so many years, now?

"I-I don't know." I trailed off. I really didn't. I was about to tell her about how she made me realize the fatal mistake I've been making for years now, when we suddenly heard Mikey's sharp voice yell out loud.

"I AM NOT A HOMOSEXUAL!"

"What the fuck?" I said, before Winter and I peaked out from behind the shelf in which we stood by. Gerard was leaning heavily against the counter across from his brother with his hand nearly at his waist. He was giving sloppy kisses all over his cheek, saliva nearly dripping all the way down to his neck. Mikey was trying desperately to shove him away but Gerard persisted.

"It's okay honey, we don't have to hide our relationship anymore!"

"YOU'RE MY BROTHER, GET OFF!" he screeched. The few customers that were here kept giving them weird, almost scared looks and Mikey was trying his hardest to explain that no, he wasn't gay, and he certainly wasn't in an incestuous relationship with his older brother. Even so, the whole ordeal made me giggle like a school girl finally being noticed by her senpai, and Winter couldn't contain her snickers, either.

"I'll see you back at home, honey-bun!" Gerard squealed and skipped back out of the glass doors, then stopped, obviously waiting for us. Winter rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's antics and went on to a different aisle; she went straight for the vinyl's. I followed her, curious as well. I took my time in browsing the extensive collection and by the time I had one picked out, I looked over and noticed Winter had a full armful of records, five at the least. She decided she was finished looking and started heading back to the front desk where Mikey was still red and fuming from Gerard's little stunt.

I followed behind Winter as she calmly placed the records down on the counter and fumbled for her wallet. Mikey seemed to forget about his brother's charade and happily rang her orders up.

"Will that be all, miss?" he said playfully. She nodded and I could practically see her smile from behind her. As he was scanning her items, I decided to be a little creepy and lean over her shoulder with my nose nearly pressing against the crook of her neck, which was wrapped in a silky black scarf. I was hoping she'd get a little freaked out and jump a bit, but much to my dismay she only spoke in a monotone.

"I know what you're doing, Frank."

"Well shit."

Mikey finished ringing up her items and Winter started to pull out a twenty. He gestured for her to keep her cash.

"It's on me."

"What?"

"It's on me, don't worry about it." he smiled. She shook her head.

"It's okay, Mikes, I can pay."

"I know you can."

"Mikey."

"Winter."

"Let me pay," he insisted.

"Mikey."

"Winter."

"Mikey."

"Winter--"

\-----

After another five minutes of bickering back and forth, Mikey got her distracted enough to where he paid for the records without her noticing. I then paid for my own, and met Gee and Winter back outside in the chilly cold. They exchanged sweet, soft kisses on the lips and I held back the urge to coo like a child.

"Shall we go?" I wrapped my arms around both of their shoulders. One of my arms was at an awkwardly low position, I bet you can guess who's shoulders it was around.

We were about halfway down the block when I start to feel uneasy, like someone is watching us from afar. I glance over my shoulder, seeing no one in particular who was staring at us. I turned my attention back in font of me, but I was still uneasy. I knew from all of those horror movies that if you feel eyes on you, then there is definitely someone around who quite possibly has ill intent. I was about to say something to Gerard and Winter, but he beat me to the punch when he commented about how unusually empty the streets had gotten and it was barely past noon. It almost looked like a ghost town.

"We should probably head back to the apartment," I suggested, not wanting for anything to happen while we're out. Gerard quickly agreed and started leading us back to his home. It amazed me how fast the atmosphere had shifted, and now I was feeling a tight pressure against my heart, causing for it to beat much faster. I glanced up at Gerard, who's jaw was clenched and then Winter, who's eyes were wide and unblinking. They felt it, too.

Something was wrong.

Could it be Scapegrace?

I've heard some of the stories Gerard has told me about how she attacks her victims. But something nagged at me inside my head, saying that this wasn't her doing. I know Gerard and pretty much the rest of New York City think she's only out for blood. But I'm one of the few outsiders who genuinely believes she is a Benign. She saved a cops life, and she saved Gerard's. She has to be one. No Malign would ever let someone go free like that.

Just when I opened my mouth again to say something in the hopes of taking the edge off, I heard a swift swishing noise right by my hear, and then afterward, a sharp stinging sensation along the edge of my ear cartilage. I hissed and instinctively turn around to see who the assailant was. Gerard and Winter followed suit, and we each turned our bodies.

In front of us was a woman, a tall skinny woman wearing black leather pants, and a hoodie of the same color. The hood was up, head hung low so we weren't able to see her face. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was Scapegrace, but she wasn't wearing that ever so familiar respirator mask with the red and biohazard insignia. Instead, I could see curly locks of bleach blonde hair hanging down from her hood. This wasn't Scape; unless she suddenly decided to go blonde. But from what witnesses say, Scapegrace had black hair.

Before any of us had time to react, our blonde adversary threw a twenty foot long rope dart in our direction. It was impossibly fast, and it coiled around my ankle. The blade dug into my calf, and I was yanked off my feet and being dragged toward this woman. I screamed from fear and clawed at the concrete.

"FRANK!" Gerard yelled and grabbed onto my hand in an attempt to pull me back in. It didn't work, and I was instead brought in front of this malicious cunt. I was now at an angle to where I could see her face, and I could safely say it wasn't Scape.

Her eyes were pale blue and sunken in, skin paled to the point where it looked like she hadn't seen the sun in years. Her body was unhealthily skinny, she almost looked like a concentration camp survivor. But she was not as weak as she looked if she were able to pull my fat ass to her with only a small black rope. She used her free hand to reach out and pull out a Japanese mini sword and bring it down to impale me. I reacted hastily by kicking both my feet at her face and knocking her off balance. She let go of the rope dart and staggered back. I took the opportunity to hop swiftly to my feet and start untangling the rope from my leg.

Gerard and Winter were at my side in an instant to help me.

"FUCK! Frank, are you okay!?" the redhead screamed. Just as I had the rope completely off me, that lady reached down and grabbed the end of the rope and started swinging it in the air, gaining more momentum to attack us with. Gerard used both his arms to shove Winter and I to the ground as it came back around, nearly decapitating us all.

"Oh shi-"

I started to sit back up when I saw the rope dart headed right for us again, but this time it was targeting one of us specifically.

Winter.

Gerard rolled on top of Winter, shielding her with his upper half and consequently, getting his back sliced to shreds in the process. While this blonde bitch was preoccupied with that, I jumped up and tackled her to the ground--or at least I tried. She saw me coming from a mile away obviously. In hindsight, I should have at least tried to be stealthy. She took that same Japanese mini sword and threw it at me. I was fast enough to be able to catch it by the blade, effectively cutting my hand but I ignored the pain. I flipped it in the air once, and held it by the handle this time. Blood dripped onto the sidewalk and I continued running at her. Stupid bitch just gave me a weapon.

The blonde adversary retracted her rope dart and instead, aimed it towards me. I was ready for it this time around. I caught the rope as well and ripped it out of her grasp. She gasped audibly and her face was priceless. I almost laughed.

"You motherfucker!" she cursed.

"The fuck are you gonna do? Huh?" I taunted. She growled lowly in her chest and stalked dangerously forward. My fear had long since dissipated, however. I was more than ready. I took her rope dart and threw it behind me, hoping Gerard would have enough sense to go after it. Now she was left without a weapon, we had the upper hand.

Or so we thought.

I stepped forward, sword raised and poised to fight, but I couldn't make it much further. The bitch pulled a fucking Russian revolver from her back pocket and pointed it right at me.

"Do not come any fucking closer." she warned. "I hate wasting my ammo on scum like you!"

I wasn't about to let someone like her take advantage of us like that, and as if it had been previously choreographed, Gerard and I rolled out of the way, landing upright behind a vehicle. Though, we were on opposite sides of the street now.

"Stay put!" I heard him command to Winter.

"But--!" she started to protest. Gerard quickly shushed her.

"What did I say!?" he barked at her like an alpha wolf. I could hear her intimidated squeak and his irritated grunt. He then popped out from behind the truck she was still hidden behind and brandished the rope dart as his own. He tossed out, and it wrapped around her neck as if it had a mind of its own. She choked for a moment but instead of struggling, she started shooting at him with the revolver. One bullet hit him in the shoulder while the other barely grazed the side of his head, not enough to do any serious damage. He stood up on the roof of the truck and jerked her body toward him. She stumbled and landed on her knees. He jumped down and landed a knee to her face, causing a pretty good nose bleed and for her to drop her revolver. He kicked the firearm away so she couldn't reach for it again, and used his foot to knock her onto her back. I watched in awe as he began tugging violently on the rope, like he was trying to cut her head off.

"The fuck do you think you are, bitch!!"

Suddenly, the blonde adversary reached up her hand, almost as if she were reaching for something and I could see her eyes glowing a faint red, I knew she was pissed. He was about to kick her hand down, when he stopped, eyes going wide and he was making an awful retching sound. I didn't have time to do anything before he doubled over, vomiting blood all over his shoes and letting go of the rope dart. It then unraveled itself from her neck and she used whatever weird telekinetic ability she had to mercilessly throw him onto the ground. He kept gagging and vomiting blood as she regained her composure. I decided now was the time to come back out and I went to run to Gerard's aid.

"Is that anyway to treat your queen? Huh!? How dare you!" she pointed accusingly at me while still continuing in Gerard's torture. I could make out his desperate sobs through the painful barfing and I grimaced. That couldn't be pleasant in the slightest.

"Queen? No, you're no queen. You're just a crazy cunt who can be easily won over." I shot back. She scoffed and opened her mouth to retort, when a sharp squeal escaped instead right after a shot rang out. She turned around to see Winter had gotten to her revolver. She held it with both hands, one leg slightly extended out in front of the other. It was quite a sight; seeing a tiny 4'10'' seventeen year old girl in a pleated skirt and innocent white tights wielding a gun like that. She looked pretty badass if I do say so myself. Even I was in awe.

"How in the fuck-"

*BANG*

Winter pulled the trigger again, hitting this supposed queen in the lower back. She screamed again and this time, it ceased her invisible hold on Gerard. He stopped vomiting blood and let out a loud gasp of relief. I hurriedly rushed to his side and knelt down.

"Holy shit! Gerard-what do I-"

"WINTER!" he screamed, sitting up immediately and holding his stomach. We couldn't help but watch as Winter kept shooting at 'the queen' and 'the queen' performed many intricate flips and maneuvers with her body in order to avoid being shot. Soon enough, Winter was out of ammo and both Gerard and I knew we had to act fast before she got hurt.

"Oh you done fucked up, you little cunt!" 'the queen' growled before raising her hand and doing the same thing she did with the redhead man. Gerard grabbed at the rope dart and tried to get her with it, but 'the queen' raised her other hand and we suddenly felt a crushing force on our bodies, making us fall backwards and scream out in agony. Through it all, I could make out the exchange between Winter and 'the queen'.

"Don't flatter yourself, you're just another useless Malign,  _Valerie_!"

"Shut. The fuck. UP!" Valerie commanded through grit teeth and she closed her other hand into a tight fist. The next thing we knew, Winter's eyes practically bulged out of her skull and she started retching in an instant. She collapsed to her knees, vomiting blood just like Gerard and clawed painfully at the asphalt. It pained me to see her suffer like this and I knew it pained Gerard even more. But there was nothing either of us could do, it felt like boulders were weighing us down, it was exhausting to take in a single breath.

Was this what dying felt like?

Winter continued to retch out gallons of vital fluid all the while managing to spit vulgar insults at her, only pissing Valerie off more and worsening the pain. With one final "Fuck you!" Valerie had had enough and used the invisible force to flip Winter onto her back. This made it so that when more blood came shooting from her throat, she was forced to swallow it back up and choke while simultaneously gagging.

I shut my eyes tight, not wanting to see when she would inevitably choke to death. Shutting my eyes couldn't shield my ears from hearing Gerard's angry and desperate shrieks, begging Valerie to let her go.

"SHE'S A FUCKING HUMAN GIRL!! LEAVE HER THE FUCK ALONE!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs while pouring tears from his eyes. At the rate he was screaming, I was sure he would break his vocal chords. His throat would for sure be done for by the time we got out of this. If we even did get out of this, that is...

"SHE'S JUST A HUMAN GIRL!!"

I kept my eyes shut the entire time until just like that, the weight on us had seemingly been lifted and I took in a deep breath of air, feeling all of my energy flowing back into my body. I felt rejuvenated, I felt born again. I sat up immediately and saw Gerard do the same. Winter's awful retches and gags had ceased and I saw that she was now on her side--a morbid amount of blood pooled around her body. If it weren't for her heaving chest, I'd say she was already dead.

My gaze averted to where Valerie once stood, and I saw her on her knees holding her neck while blood spurted out at an alarming rate. The thing that really got my attention was the man standing above her holding a knife stained with blood. It didn't look like a regular knife, however. The hilt was black, like normal, but the actual blade was a much more almost transparent looking with very light pink and blue tints to it...it looked like it was charged with electricity.

"What the--f-fu!"

"Get out of here, you fucking shitty excuse for a queen!" the man spat, then kicked roughly at Valerie's side. She scrambled to get to her feet and started running away like a dog with its tail in between its legs. When she was gone, the man who saved us re-holstered his knife and turned around to help Winter who looked as if she were about to start sobbing hysterically. Fuck, I was about to start sobbing hysterically.

"Shh, honey it's gonna be okay-"

"YOU GET AWAY FROM HER YOU SOULLESS FUCK!" Gerard screeched and ruthlessly shoved the man aside, and cradling the small Asian to his chest, crying and rocking her back and forth as she wheezed and weakly grasped at his shoulder.

"Hey, I'm trying to help, calm do-"

"FUCK YOU, YOU'RE THE SAME SHIT-FUCK WHO ATTACKED ME AT THE ACADEMY!"

"Sir, pl-"

"GET THE FUCK AWAY!"

Hearing this, I stood up and grew cautious but I held back from attacking because I knew how irrational Gerard could become when he got angry like this. His emotions were a curtain blocking his right mind.

The boy who attacked him at the academy...he told me about this a couple weeks before. One of the Bratland twins...If boy who attacked him then was undoubtedly out for blood and this one only wanted to help, that obviously meant this wasn't the same twin from before.

"WHAT PART OF GET THE FUCK AWAY DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND!? GO!!"

The boy grit his teeth but managed to remain calm through Gerard's mindless screaming and cursing.

He turned to me with a slightly softer expression yet his jaw was still hard.

"Fine. You don't want my help? Okay. But just listen to me for one moment."

Gerard held Winter even tighter in his arms and it was clear he was still royally pissed off, but he didn't say anything while the other twin rolled up his sleeves and brushed the dirt off of himself. I knew he had something important to say, so I kept my mouth shut as well.

"You all need to get your shit together, because soon, our world as we know it will change, and not for the better. The Maligns are growing stronger and stronger each day, and if they keep going at this rate, they  **will**  take over. King Damian and Queen Valerie may be quite weak now, but their ascension into the throne is still new. They have not yet mastered the nature of their powers, but I know more than anyone else that this will change quickly.

"The government you know today-as corrupt as it may be-is nothing compared to how callously and ruthlessly the Maligns will be. Everything you know will crumble. Human reign will end, and they will be reduced to nothing but sheep, or cattle, used for labor and sexual purposes.  **Against their will**. And as for the Benigns? We will share the same fate. So I suggest you  **get your shit together**  and start  **fighting back**."

Without another word, the Bratland twin shot both of us a weary look and started calmly walking away. I ran over to where Gerard held Winter and knelt down beside them. I saw that bloody tears were leaking from his eyes and dripping onto her skin. She looked like she had just run a hundred mile marathon, and blood was covering all of her face, neck, and nearly her shoulders as well. There was no doubt about it that she needed a hospital, so with this in mind I pulled out my phone and dialed 9-1-1. All the while, Gerard kept cooing to her comforting words, but really, I knew he was trying to calm himself down the most.

"Gerard, I-I'm okay--"

"Shh, Winter-"

"Gee, I'm okay," she said as if there was nothing wrong.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" the phone operator said from the other line, and I refrained from saying anything as I watched Winter gently push him away and sit up on her own.

"Winter, a-are you sure your-" I started to say. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and grinned innocently at me.

"I'm positive."

With a face of awestruck, I slowly pressed the 'end call' button and brought the phone down from my ear.

"B-Baby-" Gee reached out cautiously to her, almost like he was terrified if he even so much as touched her, she would scream out in agony and fall over.

"You can touch me, guys, I'm not gonna die on the spot. I'm okay, seriously."

As if to prove her point, she lifted herself off of Gerard's lap and stood up on her feet. I followed after her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Snow, you look like you've just been drained of all your blood. Less than a minute ago, you were writhing on the ground and retching like you were dying."

"So was Gee, but we're not questioning the fact that he doesn't seem to be at all affected by it." she pointed out. I sighed and looked down to see Gee slowly rising to his feet as well. I offered my hand to him and helped him up.

Just then, the people that were once absent from this city block had just reappeared out of seemingly nowhere and now we were receiving strange and fearful looks from everyone seeing as how both the redhead and the blue-nette were drenched in red.

"Well, um...should we just go back then?" I nervously scratched the back of my head. Things suddenly felt more awkward than detrimental, and it was like a scene from a film in a way.

"I-I guess." Gerard trailed off. Winter started wiping at the still wet vital fluid from her face, though I'm not sure why, seeing as how no matter how much she wiped at it, the blood wasn't going anywhere. Her sleeves were drenched as well, and she looked as if she hadn't just been nearly murdered.

How in the fuck was a human like her able to handle this sort of grueling trauma?


	31. Fake It

**Winter's POV**

"Yes daddy, I'll be good I swear!"

"Oh my god! Brandon! I'm leaving now!"

With a quick slam of the door, I huffed, chuckled, and shook my head as I started making my way down the block away from Brandon's apartment.

Since Gerard was swamped with a tsunami of assignments to grade and Mikey was working all day, I figured I would spend some time with who has now become one of my best friends by this point. Frank offered to hang out with me, keep me company and all that. But I was still a little nervous about him. I'll admit, he's been growing on me really fast, especially after the brief yet fulfilling conversation we had about what we wanted to do with our lives. Later on, we even mentioned the idea of starting a band together. It might happen, it might not happen. But it would be pretty cool to play shows with him. Although, thinking about it, I'm not sure I'm the right person for him to play music with. It's not that I didn't like him, because I do, but I think he and Gerard have much better chemistry together. If those two were to ever be in a band with one another, I have a feeling they would skyrocket like fucking Michael Jackson. Gerard has such a creative mind, I'll bet anything he would be the reason they skyrocket.

I smiled at the thought. Yeah, I think I liked that idea a lot better. Besides, if I'm going to be in a band with anyone, it would most certainly be Brandon. Just like Gerard is perfect for Frank, Brandon is perfect for me. I truly wonder why I haven't met this kid before, he's a senior--just a year above me, which means we've been going to this same school for three years now. I guess we just never ran into each other before.

I'm lucky he did what he did, though. But even so, I still wonder how he managed to get into my locker and put those colored pencils in there. I've asked him once, but all he did was laugh and offer me a hit from his bong.

Yes, I had no doubt about it. Brandon is an angel, well, he's an angel in the sense that I feel he was dropped straight from heaven when I needed someone like him the most to lift my spirits. But not in the sense that he's an ethereal being created by an actual deity. He's way too sinful, and honestly, so am I.

I sighed happily and tied my now bright blue hair back into a high ponytail. I really am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life. And not only that, I feel as though things are slowly getting better and better with each passing day. I have Gerard, I feel almost at peace when I think of Naomi, I've got great new friends including Mikey, Brandon and even Frank, but most importantly...I have a mom again.

I mean, I've always had a mother, but for the longest time I felt like she never really cared. It was always work work work with her. But now, I have a real relationship with her. She's now the Lorelai to my Rory and I couldn't ask for more. Despite all the drama that's been going around regarding Scapegrace and whether or not she actually murdered Sandra (the student we found in Gerard's classroom). It was exhausting, especially since a majority of people had it all wrong.

Rolling up my sleeves despite the still freezing whether, I sighed again and turned a corner to a more secluded and less popular area of the city. The only thing I could hear within a miles radius were my own footsteps, the clack clack clack of my slightly elevated ballet flats. I frowned a bit when I noticed a tear in my white stockings, but shrugged it off. I have tons of other unscathed pairs back at home. It's not a big deal. Plus, I'll be taking them off soon anyways.

God, I can't wait until I get out of these things. As cute as they looked (Gerard certainly hasn't neglected to tell me how much he loves ravishing me in garments like these), they were quite inconvenient. Especially when you're trying to take someone on with nothing but a shabby pistol.

You know, for the queen of demons you'd think she'd come a bit more prepared.

Maybe it's just me.

I started to turn another corner into an even more secluded space, when I heard another pair of footsteps behind me. Normally I wouldn't think anything of it, but they sounded too close for comfort. Almost like whoever this person was after me...

Without another thought, I whipped around quickly on my heels to see a tall, very tall boy looking back down at me. He was eerily familiar, with long black hair and dazzling green eyes that if I wasn't so paranoid and suspicious, I would have gotten lost in. Not like anything romantic, but they were just the kind of eyes you look into and couldn't ever tear your gaze away from. They were almost hypnotizing.

Almost.

I parted my lips slightly and widened my eyes, giving myself a more innocent, naive look. Thankfully this boy...no, let me rephrase that...this cocksucker who attacked my lover inside the academy didn't look angry or threatening in the slightest. He looked almost amused, if anything.

I didn't say a word to Damian, I instead gave him a cautious, fearful stare and went to walk away. But his deep, sharp and sultry voice stopped me in my tracks. As soon as his voice hit my ears, I froze completely. What do I do?

"Ms. Kirijo...may I speak with you for a few moments?"

Ms. Kirijo...how in the fuck did this poor excuse for a king know my name? He wasn't supposed to know who I was outside of...

How could this be possible? Unless he was somehow one step ahead of me, but I've been more than careful in covering my tracks and making my record look spotless. There's no way he should know any of this. But then again, maybe he just knows my name because of school.

Yeah, school. That has to be it, we've had a few classes together in the past.

With this in mind, my erratic breathing slowed down and my chest quit heaving. That was it, it was because he knows me from school. I turned around slowly, keeping my eyes soft and downcast. My voice was shy and quiet when I spoke and a small simper started to form on his lips.

"U-um...O-okay. What do you n-need me for?"

"You know you don't have to act like that when you're around me."

Bewildered, I reeled back slightly and blinked. What was this scumbag talking about? I didn't say that of course, instead, I feigned innocent once more and let out an "E-excuse me?"

"This whole charade of you being an innocent school girl? It's okay, you can actually be who you really are. I won't say anything."

This boy...Damian...this couldn't be him, could it? He wasn't being the arrogant asshole I always knew him as. He was being, dare I say, nice to me. My brain just couldn't wrap around this, it was like when I first started reading about the String Theory. The only thing I could do was stare at the book with a befuddled face and I was scratching my head as if I were hit with a brick when I was a child. As such, I had about just the same reaction when it came to Damian at this moment. The air around him didn't seem vicious or ill intended. There was something about him that was so much different from what I was used to when being around him. Unless this is another charade of his to try and get me to trust him, although it's doing a good job of confusing the hell out of me, it's not doing a very good job of increasing my trust in him. Nothing could ever get me to trust someone as despicable of him. He killed my girlfriend after all, and he tried to kill my current lover. Surely he must remember that. How could he not? 

"I...I-I don't know what that's supposed to mean, b-but I really have to get going, so...I'll see you around I guess." I almost whispered that last part and went to turn away again, but just like before his voice stopped me and I couldn't bring myself to walk away. It almost felt wrong to do so. "I h-have to be s-somewhere."

"By that you mean you're gonna splatter yourself with paint, put on a mask, and murder people?" he replied with all of the casualness in the world. The second he ended that sentence, all of the blood drained from my face and I felt my heart start banging against my rib cage again.

There was no way...

"I'm sorry, I don't know-"

"It's really okay, as I've said before I won't say anything to anyone."

To further prove his point, Damian pinched his pointer finger and thumb together, and made a zipping motion across his mouth.

"My lips are sealed, Scape."

If I wasn't freaked out before, I sure as hell was now. I couldn't stop my eyes from taking up half my face, and my breath hitched. He just called me Scape.

"Or do you prefer Grace?"

I truly was at a loss for words by this point. My face was paled like I hadn't seen the sun in years, and a burning hot sensation spread across my cheeks and all inside my chest. I felt like I was having a panic attack, and I cursed myself for not being able to keep it together. I felt like I was being held up my duct tape, but that duct tape was slowly starting to lose its adhesive factor and I was crumbling like the twin towers.

"I have to say, you have me quite impressed. You've got everyone convinced you're no more than a regular student who goes to school and does her homework like a good little girl. People might even call you names like goody-two-shoes, teachers pet, even a prude. But you're none of those things in reality, are you?"

"I-"

"You wear six inch heels, paint yourself up to where we can barely make out your facial features, even spray paint your hair black now that it's blue so as not to arose suspicion on your true identity. And those colored contacts you wear when you aren't on the hunt? Genius. Though I imagine they get irritating to wear really fast. Not to mention expensive as well."

I had had enough at this point. I was done being blind sided by the sudden revelation that Damian knew who I was, it was time to get serious.

He didn't need to say another word to have me reaching down and grabbing the combat knife I sometimes keep in the garters of my tights. I brandished it in an instant, pointing the tip right at him and ready to fight. He seemed unfazed for the most part, and only raised one eyebrow. He looked almost as confused as I was just a second ago, though I can't imagine why. He had to have known I would go into defense mode the second my cover was blown--which it has been.

Man, I wish I had my mask with me at the very least. I hate fighting without it.

"Whoa, gear down, Turbo." Damian said calmly, not even attempting to try and defend himself from my inevitable pounce. "I don't want to fight you."

"You always want to fight me you cock-face piece of shit!" I spat.

"Cock-face? Interesting word..."

Annoyed, I swung my knife up and caught it swiftly before stomping forward, preparing myself for yet another grueling and fruitless battle with my arch nemesis. Though he caught me at a really bad time, I'm not prepared to fight against someone as strong as him, especially now that I know he has telekinesis. I should have known from the start that he would eventually develop these abilities. He is the king after all.

"I don't remember ever wanting to fight you, Scape. In fact if I recall correctly, I did quite the opposite.  _I saved your life_."

I stopped for the final time, arm reeled back and ready to swipe if necessary. Those last four words he muttered set off a flashback to just last week, when the boys and I were ambushed by Queen Valerie. Lousy fucking queen if you ask me...there was this boy who looked exactly like Damian who gave this whole spiel about how the end of human reign is nearing and about how we all need to get our shit together. Now that I think about it, it wouldn't make a lick of sense for Damian to do any of these things. Furthermore, it wouldn't make any sense either for him not to attack me back. I mean, he's usually the one to try and kill me first. And his eyes...

Damian had blue eyes. This boy however, had green was. That could only mean one thing.

This was his brother.

"Demetri?" I tilted my head. He broke out into a relieved smile and I very slowly lowered my weapon. I was still cautious, but I was certain now that I didn't have much to worry about. Though I still don't know how he knows that I'm Scapegrace.

I am Scapegrace. God, I despise even just thinking those words in my head. I didn't feel like Scapegrace, I never have. I view her almost as a separate person entirely. When I put on the mask, all thoughts of Winter Kirijo dissipate. She doesn't exist, and I feel like a whole other being. And respectively, when I take the mask off, it's like I adopt a different personality from my own. Because the real Winter Kirijo is not as pathetic as I make her out to be. Yes, I have trouble making eye contact with new people and yes, I can be reserved at times. But I'm not bad to the point where I stutter every other fucking word. Everything people think they know about me is really just an exaggeration. A ploy, if you will, to keep them from suspecting that I could be responsible for such havoc.

In addition to that, if other demons, whether they be a Benign or a Malign, knew I was one of them, I would be as easy target. I'd have armies of Maligns at my doorstep ready to slaughter me at a moments notice. I'd be dead. That's why I put on an act of being clueless, and pretending to be surprised when Gerard explained to me what the difference between a Benign demon and a Malign demon was.

Was it wrong? Yes, there's no doubt about it. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

"The one and only." Demetri replied. I scoffed and put my knife back into the holster in my garter. How the hell did I not realize it sooner? This was Demetri, not his scum sucking evil wretch of a twin brother.

"How did you figure me out so fast like that? Everyone else has no idea." I asked.

"Everyone else also don't know you very well. I put two and two together...I also saw you changing from your Scape getup to your regular school uniform."

"You watched me change?"

"No, I didn't watch you like a pervert or anything!" he got flustered real fast. "I'm not like that, I swear! I'm not into girls anyway!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Well now that we've established you know who I really am, and I know who you really are, what is it you wanted to talk with me about?"

"Ah," he started. "You see, I need your help."

"My help?" I furrowed my brows. What could he possibly need my help with?

"Yes," he replied. "I know my brother like the back of my hand, and I know what he plans on doing to us Benigns, and to the humans, too. He plans on taking complete control. He aims to take this whole country, even the whole world maybe, and make humans a minority. To make the demons, specifically the Maligns, the top dogs. The ones who run countries, the ones who decide on what laws to pass...

"He'll turn humans into domesticated pets and/or servants. He'll enslave them all, create markets for them as if they're fucking toys. They'll be sold to people for sexual gain, they'll be reduced to nothing more than cunts for Maligns to stick their cock in and fill to the brim with their vile seed. But you know what? I also know that you're one of the most skilled and talented fighters out there. And you don't have to fight alone, I'll teach you everything I can, and we'll work together, see to it that Damian and his kingdom fall before they even come to power."

When he was finished, he extended his hand out for me to take, and looked at me with those kind, sparkling eyes. I couldn't bring myself to hate someone like him. Yes, he looked exactly like the asshole who killed my girlfriend and almost my now boyfriend. Obviously he does, he's his identical twin. But also in a strange way, he looked completely different.

Damian's face was always scrunched up in a scowl or a sickening smirk whereas Demetri looked soft and non threatening. His lips were always upturned into some kind of alluring smile and his eyes...I need to shut up about his damn eyes.

My point is, it was very easy for me to let my guard down around him. I know he isn't anything like his brother.

"What do you say," he reached his hand out for me. "Work together with me, and we'll make sure that the world as we know it continues to run the way it has been for the past epoch...if you would?"

If I would, it was like he was asking for me to dance with him. Even so, I slowly placed my hand in his and shook it firmly.

"Of course."


	32. Where Is My Mind?

**Winter's POV**

"You sure you'll be okay?" Gerard asked me as he still had my hand in his firm grasp. His eyes were watering with worry, eyebrows raised and furrowed slightly. I playfully rolled my eyes and clicked my tongue. I knew exactly why he was so hesitant in letting me go out by myself. It was because he was afraid Scapegrace would get to me. Every single time he expressed these concerns, I almost wanted to start laughing. I kind of wished I didn't have to act like Scapegrace wasn't a part of me, that I was as innocent as he believed I was. In addition to that, it almost made me feel guilty whenever I acted the way I did. It was wrong and deceitful, I was basically pretending to be someone I wasn't. But there are just some sacrifices that needed to be made if I was going to protect my identity.

"Yes, Gee, I'll be fine. We really do need to start on this project, we've procrastinated enough on it already. Plus, isn't it you who tells me all the time that I need to get better at not doing that shit?" I countered.

He pursed his lips, defeated. He does nag at me a lot sometimes when he knows there's an assignment that needs to get done soon. Especially if it's an assignment from his class. That is perhaps the weirdest part about dating your teacher, other than...you know, dating your teacher because that in itself is weird enough. But in my line of work, these kinds of things don't really affect you anymore.

"I'll see you tonight, I promise." I offered him a gentle smile and pecked his lips. Just as I was about to walk off in the other direction, he grabbed my by my wrist and pulled me against him for another kiss. Only this one was much deeper and passionate. His lips molded against mine with perfect precision and for a brief moment I forgot who I was or what I was going to do. The only thing that existed was our lips and the taste of black coffee we shared this morning. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was heaven right where we stood. I could have stayed here forever, but much to my dismay I had to leave. I promised Demetri that I would help in stopping the King and Queen from turning us into slaves.

"I love you." he whispered loud enough so only I could hear. I grinned brightly and said it back to him in the same hushed voice. We then parted ways and I was off down the street. I wasn't going to Brandon's house, though.

Demetri and I did some scouting just a few nights before, and we found this old abandoned warehouse that seemed to have been forgotten centuries ago. It was gigantic, and there was more than enough room in there for us both to practice our combat skills. Or for him to teach me more of his, because god knows I'm far from being the best fighter in the world. Even as Scapegrace, I still sometimes get taken advantage of the other person ends up having the upper hand. Although I haven't ever technically lost a fight with any Malign before, I still have lots of room for improvement. If I was going to successfully aid in starting and winning this revolution then I needed to be up to par with my comrades.

As I was walking, I could feel my signature dagger pressing against my skin under my black silky garters. I was more than ready to fight again if someone were to attack me. I was always ready. Once again, in my line of work you had to be prepared for an ambush at any given moment. Even if you're with the people you think would never turn on you, you can't really trust anybody can you?

I guess that's one mistake I can't help but make, especially with one man in particular.

I made it to the old warehouse within the hour and I subtly made my way inside where I saw Demetri sitting in the center of this spacious room, polishing off what looked to be a block pistol with a white rag. He lifted his head up to look at me, and flashed me a kind yet somewhat devious beam. I could see he had his sharp fangs out for me to see, and I won't lie, that did put me on edge a little bit. But instead of expressing such, I simply returned that same smile and sauntered up to him, arms crossed lazily over my bosom.

"What's up, Sheba?" he greeted me as if we were strangers in a club. I rolled my eyes and smirked a frolicsome smirk.

"Shut up, Spiegel." I stopped right in front of him and took a good look around at the open briefcases filled with different firearms (mainly pistols) and other melee weapons. There were six cases in total, half filled with knives and daggers, the other three with the said pistols. "what's all of this?" I asked before sitting down in front of him with my legs crossed. He put the gun and the rag down, and I could see the clip of ammunition was discarded from the thing and was sitting a few feet away from him.

"Just a few samples from our armory." he replied casually. I lifted a brow at him.

"Our armory?"

"You'll find out more later."

I huffed in annoyance and tightened my arms across my chest. I always hated when people left me in the dark like this, left me feeling suspicious and more curious than ever. But I decided to let it go for now, he did say I'll find out more about it later. I fucking better.

"Fine. What's the first song on our set list tonight?" I asked again. He put his full attention on me and suddenly things took a bit of a more serious turn. His green eyes darkened quite a bit and I grew uneasy. This couldn't be good. "Oh shit, that look you're giving me can't be good."

"Don't worry, it's nothing that horrendous." he assured me, though I can't say it worked all that well. This whole situation was horrendous on so many levels. We all might die in the next year or maybe even less. The King and Queen might not be too powerful at the moment but very quickly here, we'll come to find that they are capable of major world domination and destruction. I didn't comment on it and instead let him continue. This was obviously going to be pretty important.

"What's going on?" I pursed my lips into a thin grim line. Demetri let out a heavy sigh before speaking.

"That little boyfriend of yours might be a problem for us." he deadpanned. My eyes went wide and I leaned back.

"You mean Gerard?" I asked almost frantically.

"Unless you two are just fuck buddies, I don't know the story. Either way, we need to keep a close eye on him."

"Why would we need to keep a close eye on him? He's a Benign like us, if anything we should have brought him with us to this place. He could be of great assistance to this whole ordeal."

"Yeah, he could be. But he's not." Demetri's aura went incredibly dark and for a moment, I was almost afraid. I was racking my brain, trying to figure out why Gerard of all people could be a potential threat. He was Benign, he hates the king just as much as we do and the same could be said for the queen. And I know it wasn't because Demetri was somehow jealous of the guy. He's made it very clear to me that he likes men.

"Care to elaborate?" I cocked my head to the side. He crossed his arms like me, mirroring my posture. In fact, we were sitting in the exact same position. If I weren't so sick with worry, and a little pissed off to some extent, I would have been cracking some lame joke about it.

"Do you know the reason why he and Mr. Iero stopped being friends for almost three years?"

"How do you know who Frank is?" I shot back.

"I'll tell you later. Now, we're focused on the issue with Gerard Way."

I scoffed again, my anger meter starting to rise slowly. I could already feel my hands start to shake in fury. "There is no issue with Gerard. I told you already, he's a Benign. He's shown no signs that he is against any of what we stand for. You saw the way he went off on Queen Valerie like that! Come on!"

"Just answer the question, Kirijo. Do you know the reason he and Mr. Iero had a falling out?"

My eyes flared at his use of my surname, like he thought he was my superior. Like he thought he was better than me. Well, I could assure him right now that that was not the case. I'm a fucking vigilante after all. I'm Scapegrace, I've taken the lives of more Maligns than I could count. He may technically be the prince, and a powerful one at that. I won't deny that fact, but that doesn't give him the damn right to treat me like I belonged at the very bottom of the food chain.

Before I had the chance to tell him any of this, he repeated the question like I was deaf.

"Do you know the reason why he and Mr. Iero had a falling out?"

I let out another irritated huff. "He told me it was because they were just too different people. Their horns clashed way too often, they couldn't agree on anything. I don't understand why this detail is so important to us."

Demetri took his turn to scoff this time, and that only succeeded in upsetting me even more. Man, as much as I liked the benevolent of the Bratland twins, he did have a natural talent for getting under my skin and pressing all the wrong buttons. If he weren't gay, maybe we would have been engaging in brutal hate sex for months by now.

"That's all he told you?" he smirked at me, and for a moment I thought this was Damian pretending to be his brother. I was more than ready to grab my dagger and swing it at his face. But unfortunately for me, he kept talking and I kept seething. "They didn't have a fulling out just because their personalities were far too different. It was because or their morals."

"Their morals?" My anger was taking the backseat temporarily at the moment and my head was swimming in disarray.

"You see, it's no secret that Mr. Way is more than willing to break the rules in order to get what he wants. He could easily turn out to be our next biggest enemy."

"That's bullshit!" I screamed. "Gerard is  _not_  like that!"

"Really? Because I'd say otherwise."

"You don't fucking shit about him." I argued heatedly.

"I know that he's fucking a seventeen year old who also happens to be one of his students."

My mouth was wide open and ready to spit out another bitchy retort, but then the gravity of what he just said came crashing right into me, and my fury slowly started to fade away. The shaking in my hands increased but the fire inside of me had been burned out. My face went slack and I could feel something wet and thick sliding down my face. And it wasn't water.

"He..." I trailed off, not even sure what I was going to say in the first place. I wasn't sure what I could say, because nothing that would come out of my mouth could beat the point that Demetri just made.

It was wrong. What Gerard and I had was so, unbelievably wrong. This I knew. But it never bothered me before. After, what  _I_  did was also wrong. I've killed people, not just Maligns, but real people. Back when I first started playing the role of Scapegrace, I didn't think twice before easily slaughtering any human who got in my way. I've done worse than sleep with an underage girl. But evens so, I was rendered speechless.

Demetri was right. No man with respectable morals would actually go through with having sex with one of his underage students. Let alone start up a romantic and concupiscent relationship with her. But at the same time, it wasn't just him who was sinning here. He wasn't the only one in the red zone. This was also my choice. I agreed to this relationship.

He seemed to sense my sudden shift in emotion. He saw my face fall the way it did and his hard gaze on me lightened up dramatically. He, too, realized what he said and he slightly crawled toward me. I instinctively backed away from him. Not out of fear, but out of spite.

"Sh-Sheba, I didn't mean for it to sound so-"

"Shut the fuck up." I interrupted. I then shot my head up to give him the most incandescent of scowls. "You don't know a fucking thing about the Gerard I know. Yeah, he does some questionable things here and there, he knows what he does it wrong. He's not a fucking criminal, he's some a pedophile, and he's not some creep just looking for sex. He's proven to me time and time again just how much he loves me. Fuck, he gave me a key to his apartment! He calls me family! His _brother_  calls me family! If that's not an indication that what we have is real, then I don't know what is." I panted slightly by the end of all that. "He treats me like a god damn queen."

This time around, Demetri was the speechless one. At least for a while until he started speaking in a much softer tone.

"I won't deny that what you two have is real. I believe it when you say he is madly in love with you. But just because he treats you like royalty doesn't mean we can trust him any more. I may not know him the same way you do, but he's done some fucked up things that you aren't aware of. He's killed people--"

"So have I."

"For sport."

"What?" I stood abruptly from my spot on the concrete floor and turned my back to him. I could hear him stand and start slowly walking towards me but I ignored it. I ignored him asking for me to look at him, and I ignored his large hand coming down to rest on my shoulder.

I can't believe this. This couldn't be right. Gerard wouldn't kill for sport, that's not like him. This is the same man who squealed like a little girl when he saw me in a pair if cat ears for the first time. The same man who got excited over a cabbage patch doll. The same man who made me feel like I was invincible. He couldn't be responsible for that sort of crime. I refused to believe it.

I turned sharply on my heel and held back the urge to slap Demetri across his stupid face.

"Why should I believe a word you say? You're the brother of the maniac we call a king. Why should I have any reason to trust you?"

"If I wanted to kill you, Sheba, believe me I would have done it a long time ago. Besides, I'm the reason you weren't torn to shreds by Valerie's hands. You should be thanking me."

"I should be fucking you." I spat back without thinking, and then immediately regretted my choice of words. He had a potent reaction to them as well and he stepped back, almost afraid looking. "N-Not like that! Oh god!" my face burned bright red. I didn't just say that to him. I did  _not_ just say that to him. "I-I meant, like, in a hateful way! Like, not actually having sex with you but like, I-I don't know--kicking you or something? Fuck! That was not supposed to come out like that!"

I then buried my face into my hands. I think I just ruined any future points I would have made with that sentence alone. He won't take me seriously at all now that I've said something so fucking stupid.

 _STUPIDSTUPIDSTUPID_ \--

"HA!" I jumped slightly when I heard Demetri's boisterous laughs echoing around in the empty warehouse. He was cackling hysterically and wiping away tears from his eyes as he giggled. "Ahh, holy shit I haven't laughed like that in a long time. This is why I love you, Sheba."

"Would you stop calling me that?"

"Hmm...Nah!"

"Fine, Spiegel."

"What does that even mean?" Demetri queried.

"Have you ever seen Cowboy Beebop?"

"I've seen Cowboys VS Aliens, does that count?" he replied. I quickly widened my eyes and practically screeched at him.

"No that does not count! What is wrong with you!?"

"A lot of things, Sheba. A lot of things are wrong with me."

"Yeah, I can tell." I rolled my eyes. "You uncultured swine."

"Egg." he retorted. I furrowed my brows, extremely confused.

"Did you just call me an egg?"

"Yeah, I did! What are you gonna do about it? Egg!"

"Worm!"

"Egg!"

"Worm!" I yelled again before swinging my closed fist toward his face. Demetri laughed and grabbed my wrist and before I knew it, I was being flipped upside down. My back crashed onto the floor and I groaned pitifully. He gazed down at me, eyebrows raised and a knowing smirk upon his lips.

"You may be one of the greatest fighters I've seen in white a while, but that attack was painfully predictable."

"Go to hell, Bratland!"

"Get up." he ordered, but I didn't have the time to follow said order before he was pulling me up by my hand, bringing me back onto my feet. Once again, I didn't have much time to react before he spun me around so my back was pressed rightly against his chest and his arm was locked firmly around my neck. I gasped loudly and mindlessly brought my hands up to his forearm, clawing helplessly at his skin. He sighed at me.

"I know you can do better than that." he said before kicking me in the back of my calf, causing me to buckle. The pressure on my throat increased, but not to the point of him actually suffocating me.

"Get off!"

"Use your head!"

I did the first thing that came to mind and I slammed my foot into his shin, making his grip on my neck loosen. I then elbowed him in the stomach, turned around and went to punch him in the throat when he snatched my wrist once again and this time, spun me around and let go so I went stumbling and falling down.

"Ow! The fuck!"

"Man, you must be really distracted today!" he teased. Before he had a chance to take advantage of the fight for the umpteenth time, I shot up and landed a roundhouse kick towards his face. Much to my dismay, he grabbed my ankle and flipped me back down.

"OW!"

"Quit making your moves so predictable!"

I sprang back up to my feet and took to a firm, poised stance with both of my fists raised. Demetri did the same thing, once again, mimicking my actions. We kept this same position for what seemed like an eternity until he shot out a fist right at me. I ducked with ease and I tried the same thing, aiming for his nose. He averted his head to the side and landed a sock to my nose instead. Luckily it didn't hurt that bad, and it didn't start to bleed. I don't know what I would tell Gerard if I returned with a tissue filled with blood stuffed up my nostrils. I don't know what I would tell my  _mother._

"Your eyes are what give it away more often than not. Don't look at the place you plan on attacking and you'll get better res-"

I didn't let him finish his sentence before I nailed him right in the solar plexus while maintaining steady eye contact. He hissed and doubled over, but I didn't stop there. I kneed him in the face and threw him to the side just like he did with me just a few seconds ago. He struggled to breath for a few seconds before he eventually regained his composure and looked back up at me with slightly watering eyes. With a cough, he said, "Color me impressed."

"Never underestimate me."

He jumped back up in record time and tried to charge at me like he was a bull, but all I had to do was side step in order to see him fall flat on his face when he failed to grab me and throw me down like he most likely aimed to do.

"Now who's predictable?" I taunted lightly. He growled and before I could react, he kicked me so I fell in a similar fashion as him. He then climbed on top of my back and I groaned. "God! You're so fucking heavy! What are you eating!? OW!" his elbow slammed right into my upper back and I screamed in frustration. I squirmed, but I could barely move. He was a 6'4'' tall man who weighed probably more than 200 pounds. He looked lanky and scrawny as all hell, but I'll bet you anything he's more jacked than a WWE wrestler under that shirt.

"Man, you're useless!" he teased again.

"I hate you!"

"I love you, too!"

"Get off!"

"Why don't you just use that knife you hide under your skirt?"

"How do you know I hide a knife under my skirt?"

"I can feel it pressing against my leg."

"That's what she said."

"Shut up." he said before lifting himself off of me and for once, letting me catch my breath. I rolled over so I was laying on my back and breathe heavily through my mouth. I always seem to forget just how exhausting this shit it. Although having somebody three times my size certainly didn't help. I also couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in myself for letting him get the upper hand so easily. Although at the same time, I also knew that if this were a real fight, I could win pretty easily. I mean, I did rip a man's head off with just my bare hands once, I think I could take someone like Demetri. It would be a pretty long battle, don't get me wrong. But I stand a pretty good chance. I could probably even take on Mikey or even Gerard if it so came down to it. He might be a lot shorter than Demetri (still pretty tall, though) but he was definitely a bit more heavier than him and I suppose if he really wanted to, he could crush me. But I highly doubt it will ever get to a point where we have to fight each other for real.

I looked over and noticed Demetri was laying a few feet next to me in a similar position. I chuckled at how often we seemed to mimic each other's actions. It made me wonder if I had really found the perfect partner to fight in this revolution with. Call me crazy, but I think I have. Maybe he could be the robin to my batman. Maybe I wouldn't have to play the role of Scapegrace by myself anymore.

"Hey, lemme ask you something if you don't mind." Demetri spoke up after a few moments of comfortable silence. I looked him in the eyes and nodded. I wonder what he's so curious about now.

"What's up?"

He hesitated for a moment, and I feared for a second that it had something to do with Gerard again. I didn't want to get into another argument with him about that. It was pretty clear to me that he didn't like the guy very much and that's fine. But that doesn't mean he has to immediately classify him as a potential enemy. And that whole spiel about him killing humans for sport, well...that's an issue for another day.

"What made you want to become Scapegrace?"

_Become Scapegrace._

Blegh!

"I'm not Scapegrace." I immediately replied, and he sat up suddenly with a baffled glint in his eyes just as I expected.

"What do you-"

"I mean, I am Scapegrace," I clarified. "But I don't like saying that I'm Scapegrace. She...she's not who I really am. She's a role I play when it's needed but she is not a part of me. I'm not that ruthless or that cruel."

The air went quiet again and all I could hear was our breathing. He stared at me sorrowfully, not sure what to say next I assume. I almost felt bad for saying it like that, maybe it was a bit more rude than it had to be. But I just don't know how else to put it. I'm not Scapegrace. She's a costume, a mask I wear. If I were to go out there and fight the way I do without that mask, I would have been exterminated a long time ago.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you looked at it that way...I-I guess I...I don't know...If I were in your shoes, I'd take pride in what I do. I mean, you're the reason that so many human lives have been saved. How can you not be proud of that?"

"Because..." I trailed off. "I-I don't feel like it's me doing all those things. I just...It's like I black out every time I put on that mask and all that paint. And someone else takes over. Maybe if I didn't hide who I really was, it'd be different."

"I think I can understand that. I'm sorry for being insensitive."

"You weren't insensitive. You just didn't know."

"Still."

"Shut up, Spiegel." I then sat up and hopped up to my feet again. He propped himself up on his elbows but didn't make an effort to do much more than that. His nose scrunched up a bit at the dumb nickname, especially since he didn't even understand the reference. But that just gave me even more reason to use it on him, just like he does with the name Sheba.

"What's wrong?" he asked me once he noticed that I was staring pretty intently at him, giving him an expectant look.

"Fight me." I said. His brows came together for a moment before a smirk started slowly forming onto his lips. He was getting ready to stand up when I put my foot down firmly on his abdomen and held him down. His arms gave out and the back of his skull thunked on the cement flooring.

"Ow--hey!"

"The real enemies won't wait for you." I pointed out. He rolled his eyes, grabbed my ankle and effortlessly threw me down next to him before climbing on top of me and straddling my hips again. I wasn't about to make the same mistake as last time, and reached down to grab the knife hidden under my skirt. Demetri knew what I was doing and snatched up my wrist. God, what is up with my today? I am so off my game.

So I did the next best thing that I could think of. I gripped at the fabric of my shirt and pulled in opposite directions. The buttons came popping off, leaving my chest exposed for him to see. He caught sight of my favorite black lace bra (wore it especially for Gerard today) and instantly grew flustered. His face turned beet red and his hands started to fumble. I nearly laughed and managed to wiggle myself out from under his pelvis, which was sitting right on top of me. I then lifted both my legs up in the air, which I'm sure gave him a nice view of the matching black panties. I then kicked his face with both my flats and he went flying away from me. He collapsed onto his back and groaned. I jumped back up to my feet and finally grabbed a hold of that dagger. It wasn't the best I owned and it wasn't very big. But I couldn't make it obvious to Gerard that I even had one hiding under there. It would just arouse more suspicion and make things weird.

I twirled it in the air, gave it a little kiss on the blade and ran towards the poor boy who just got flashed.

It's a damn good thing Gerard isn't here right now.

He leaped back up as well, and I could tell he was still having a bit of trouble composing himself. I didn't know much about the Benign Bratland twin, but I did know that he didn't do well in situations like these. So I used that to my advantage. I knew for a fact that if the tables were turned he would be doing the same thing to me.

I swiped at him, but he ducked and tackled me. He looked like he was headbutting me as my back crashed into an abandoned shelf, all of its contents spilling down and onto the both of us. I hissed in pain as the edges dug into my lower back and I brought my fist down on his. Instead of getting him with the blade, I dug the bottom of the handle into his skin and he responded by lifting his head and--well I'm not sure what he was about to do before he realizes just how awkward this position was. From our perspective, we were just practicing our combat skills, but I'm 500% sure that anyone who saw what we were doing would think we were about to fuck. I mean, my legs were wrapped around his waist for god sake!

"My face has never been this close to a pair of tits since I was being breastfed by my mother."

"Just put me down!"

"Sorry! Sorry..." he then slowly lifted me off from being pressed against the shelf and I unraveled my legs from around him. God, this sounds bad. If he weren't a raging homosexual, I'd feel like I was cheating on Gerard.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, I used my free hand to land a harsh uppercut and a roundhouse kick just to top it all off. He went stumbling back and I kept landing all these flying kicks to his face and chest. Since I was in my regular black flats that Gee liked so much instead of my favorite combat boots, they didn't do as much damage. But I knew that Demetri would still have a few dark bruises from our session today.

For the finishing touch, I back handed him across the cheek and he ended up tripping his own feet, falling ass backwards once more. I stood above him, proud and breathless and he kept groaning from all the good hits I got in. After a few seconds I dropped my knife to the ground and ended up laying flat on my back. The cold floor worked in cooling me off after that little workout. My chest heaved up and down and another moment went by before I heard him start to giggle happily.

I think we spend maybe fifteen minutes laying on the floor, giggling and exchanging compliments on each others fighting skills. Though I know we could have done better. A lot better. I guess we just didn't take today's session as seriously as we should have. But I couldn't help it, it was fun! I hate that we always have to be so stoic all the time. Sometimes we need a break from all this revolution drama.

We eventually gathered enough energy to start packing up our things. Mainly he just closed all the cases containing those firearms and I placed my dagger back into its rightful place under my skirt. When I turned around, he was standing there with a loose black button in the palm of his hand. He held it out to me with a playful smirk on his face.

"I believe this is yours."

I looked down at myself and whined. "Aw! All the buttons are broken!"

"That's what happens when you rip your shirt open like that." he snickered.

"This shirt is ruined now! Damn it, and it's one of my favorite's too!"

"It was already ruined by your inability to fill it out."

I lifted my head to look at him with my jaw slack and eyes wide. "You dick!"

"I'm kidding! They're nice! And soft...damn, I know I'm gay but I wouldn't mind--"

"Okay! I've heard enough!" I cut him off. "Enough about your latent bisexuality!"

"Shut up! I'm not bisexual!"

"Could've fooled me." I shot back.

"Oh whatever! Here, take this." he then slipped off his large black denim coat and held it out for me to take. I did so, thanking him in the process. The first thing I noticed was that it was softer than it looked, and the sleeves went way past my hands. When I had it buttoned all the way, my entire torso and half my thighs were concealed. If it weren't for my white pleated skirt poking out underneath, it would look like I wasn't wearing any pants. I looked up at him with a giant beam and flapped the sleeves around like a child. He chuckled at my giddiness.

"I suppose that concludes today's session."

I chuckled back as well and said "I had fun."

"I did to. I look forward to our next one. Hey, do you want a ride home?"

I shook my head. "That's okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I enjoy walking around the city anyway. Gives me a chance to relax and think clearly again. Y'know, since things have been getting pretty crazy lately. It's nice to just walk and not worry about anything if only for a few minutes."

Demetri seemed to take my words to heart, for something flickered in his eyes. Maybe it was realization. He nodded finally after a second.

"Yeah, that sounds nice. That sounds really nice, actually..."

"Try it some time. You'd be surprised at how much it helps keep you from losing your mind."

After that exchange, I turned my back to him and made my way out the entrance. I could feel him curiously staring after me and after my trail even when I was long gone. I wasn't lying when I said that it really did calm me, but I also failed to mention that even walks around the city couldn't put my churning waters at ease. In some ways I don't even know how to describe it. But no matter what, I will always feel uneasy, nervous, anxious and dreading the events to come my way. Because I know for a fact that something big will go down soon. And it could be the downfall of us all. I just hope the humans are able to get out alive.

Honestly, I don't even think heroin could calm the churning waters.


	33. Moving On

**Winter's POV**

Over the next week or so, I've been returning to the same abandoned warehouse where Demetri was waiting to teach me something new each time. And I have to say, one way or another, things always take a sexual turn and neither of us really understand it much. It's not that we have any sort of romantic or sexual attraction to each other (obviously), but we always end up in very compromising situations. Whether it's me straddling him with half my shirt ripped off, or him accidentally groping me once or twice in a combat practicing session. Sometimes I feel like I'm cheating on Gerard.

Obviously none of it is ever intentional, it just happens. But I'm pretty sure neither of us has anything to worry about, however.

Today has played out very similarly to it the way it has been for the past week and a half. I'd go to school, spend some time with Gerard, Brandon, Okaasan, and then later on in the night, I would make up an excuse to Gee telling him I had more homework or I was doing something with Okaasan. Therefore, I couldn't be with him that night. I could tell he was highly disappointed every time I delivered the bad news, but he never argued with me, which I am eternally grateful for. I don't ever want to have to explain to him that I'm actually going to learn combat with the Malign King's twin brother and he secretly thinks that Gee is a Malign incognito. I can't tell him any of that. I think I'd much rather have him believe I'm cheating on him. It would certainly be easier to explain, that much is for damn sure.

I don't necessarily like doing it, but sometimes you just have to master the art of lying in order to get by.

Speaking of Gerard being a Malign in disguise...

I'm still not sure where I stand on this issue. I never thought he ever had any bad intentions, and I still maintain that he is far from being a bad person. He's proven to me, Frank, and Mikey time and time again that he is quite the opposite. But I can also understand his reservations when it comes to actually trusting him with the sort of information that we have and what we're currently fighting for. Even I can see how one would mistake Gee for the bad guy. He acts like one a lot of the times, and if I had a penny for every time I had to stop him from getting into a fight with someone, I would be living like a fat rat. But that doesn't make him one of the villains. It just means he has a bit of an anger issue, and that's okay. So do I to some degree.

I've explain this to Demetri and he understands. But he's still tremendously cautious when it comes to dealing with him. I think I would be, as well. In a world like this, you can never really know who to trust and who to condemn. Especially when we're dealing with something as serious as a revolution...sometimes you just have to put aside any emotional connections you have to your loved ones and except that they could just as easily be part of the opposing team. Demetri would certainly know about this. His brother is the King after all. I can't even begin to imagine the kind of hell he must be going through.

He's told me before that any emotional ties he has to his brother before are completely severed now. The fact that they are related means nothing to him. I think that's something that I'll never be able to fully understand. I just don't get how someone could think that way about someone they grew up with. Someone who they were once close with. In any case, I just hope I won't have to deal with that sort of pain anytime soon.

Believe it or not, I'm not a complete sociopath.

This time, when I arrived at Demetri and I's place of practice, I was in an old, torn and shredded pair of skinnies and an extremely faded Paramore t-shirt I got at Warped Tour about three years ago.

Just like always, he was sat cross legged on the floor surrounded by all of these weapon filled suitcases. I still have no clue what the significance of these are. I mean, I get it. They're weapons and they're useful, but he treats them as if they're the very key to winning this war. Which, I'm not sure about that. They're just weapons after all.

But what the fuck do I know. I'm just a rookie.

"Okay, seriously, you gotta fill me in here. What the hell is up with this?" I almost sighed as I stood in front of him, my weight shifted to one hip and my arms crossed, head tilted. He gave me that same knowing smirk he's been giving me for the past almost two weeks and I groaned. "Why can't you just give me a straight answer for once?"

"Calm down, Sheba. You'll know soon enough. Very soon, in fact."

"Is that so?" I challenged. Something tells me he's full of shit. But then again, I guess I could be wrong.

"But first," he stopped himself and stood up. He towered over me and I found myself craning my neck just to look him in the face. "We've got some business to take care of." he gave me a grave look. I furrowed my eyebrows a bit, wondering just what the hell he meant. I could tell he was serious about it, and I was starting to get a little worried.

"What, are you planning on killing me with these!?"

"What!? No! Why would you think that!?" his stoic composure was shattered, and he was acting as if I had accused him of watching tentacle porn on my laptop. It's something he would probably do if I were being totally honest with myself.

"You're looking at me all serious and shit! You're skinning me alive with your eyes, what else am I supposed to think!?"

"I'm not gonna kill you!"

"Then what are you planning!?"

"I'm just gonna give you a little test! That's all!" he finished. I huffed.

"A test?" he nodded. "What kind of test? I didn't know I was still in school. You gonna ask me what the square root of pi is? Or to recite the Gettysburg Address?"

"No, Sheba--"

"Because I can do both."

"Winter!--"

"1.7724538--"

"Okay, I get it!"

"Four score and seven years ago--"

"OKAY. I get it!...jesus fucking christ."

I snickered to myself and pushed up my pair of imaginary glasses up my nose like the snobby know-it-all characters you see often in anime. Demetri only responded by groaning loudly into the palm of his hand and giving me a look as if to say I was a disappointment.

"Seriously, what's this test ab--" I never got a chance to finish my sentence for I was instantly met with a foot to the mouth. Quite literally. I swear, if I walked out of here with a giant mark in the shape of his boot on my face, I will chemically castrate him and then give it to him for his birthday. But it seems I'll have to save the genital mutilations for later. Because I knew what this test was, now. And I was not about to fail. He thinks he can just catch me off guard like that and not expect for me to retaliate?

Well, no...that's kind of what he's been teaching me to do as of late.

I instantly sprung into action and dropped down into a low crouch in order to avoid his next flying kick. Luckily, his leg went flying right over my head and I responded by swiping my own leg over and knocking him off balance. He went clamoring to the ground with a load 'OOMF' and I wasted no time in going in for the kill. Or punch, rather.

He grabbed a hold of my fist before it could make contact with his face, which I was anticipating that to happen. So while his attention was on that, I used my other fist to land a punch to his gut. He retched like a hungover drunk, but he must have had a gag reflex of steel. Well, I'm not surprised. He is a gay man. He Frank would get along really well.

Demetri managed to grab a hold of my hair and throw me off to the side. I ended up rolling a few times and there was now a stinging spot on my scalp from where he grabbed it. Now that's a chick move right there. He can do better than that!

By the time I was back on my feet, so was he and it seems we were back at square one.

"I'm testing you to see if you've gotten up to par with my expectations. If you're gonna be a part of this revolution, you have to know how to fight. Properly."

"Yeah, I kinda gathered that after you kicked me in the mouth like a fucking horse just a second ago." we both playfully bantered back and forth while we circled the large room, fists poised in front of our chests and more than ready to shoot out at any second. Demetri rolled his eyes, and I fixated my gaze on a spot on the wall behind him. I widened my eyes to make it seem as if I were looking at something rather horrifying, other than his face. He caught on and glanced over his shoulder to see what I seemed to be so freaked out over. I took advantage of this short window and landed a drop kick right into his side. He collapsed for the second time already and I laughed out loud.

Ah, that trick never gets old!

"Ow! God! Why do you always do that!?"

"Because you always fall for it!" and with that, I stomped him with all the strength my foot could muster right on his crotch. He half groaned half screamed and promptly covered that area with both of his hands. I stomped on those two, and he finally had enough sense to grab me by the ankle and yank me down onto the floor with him. We spent roughly another minute or so wrestling each other, trying to gain the upper hand before he had me on my back, his hips keeping me down while his hands were snaked very tightly around my neck. It wasn't tight enough to really suffocate me, but it was enough to catch me off guard once again. For the next few seconds, the only thing I could think to do was claw aimlessly at the cold tile floors before I ended up hurling a wad of spit right into his eye. One of his hands left my throat to wipe it away, and I used mine to smack him across the face, knocking him off of me. We spent about another two minutes wrestling around on the cold, cold floor again. The upper hand kept alternating between me and him every five seconds and for a moment, it seemed like we were just going in circles. One minute, I was on top of him, ready to win the fight. But then he would quickly dominate and slam my skull against the ground. In fact, I think I might be bleeding a little.

No pain no gain though, right?

I could tell we were both getting pretty fed up with this constant cycle of flipping each other over and nearly choking one another to death. So to save us both the trouble, I landed a kick with both of my feet point blank in his face just as he was about to jump on me again. I sprung back to a standing position, and this time, we were now engaged in a full on boxing match. He got in one good punch, and all the others went straight to my forearms due to my blocking technique. I got a good one in two, before he caught on and started doing the same thing as me. By now, my chest was heaving and we were both panting pretty heavily. Sweat beaded down my forehead, and I cursed myself for wearing such a baggy, heavy t-shirt. I know it's still the winter time, but when you get into an adrenaline rushed fight such as this one, it starts to feel like a summer in Arizona.

I wanted to try and land another punch to his nose, but my knuckles were all scraped up, bruised and bleeding enough already. If I were to do that, I might just end up breaking my hand. So I kicked him shin, and he went to clutch the area with his hand. I then used my other, lesser damaged fist and got in a pretty good uppercut. He yelled out in pain, staggering backwards. I snatched him up by the hair just as he had done with me, forced him to bend over, twisted my own body and elbowed him in the back of the neck. He screamed like a scared little girl this time, and I think I heard a distinct cracking sound as well. I grinned at this, then wrapped both arms around his neck, locking him in a choke hold. His back was bent backwards at a terribly awkward and uncomfortable angle due to my inexplicably short height. He went to backwards kick me in the shin as I had done to him, but I knew already that he would try something like this. So I stomped on that foot and he collapsed onto his knees.

"Ha! Got ya'!"

"Not quite!" he almost giggled. I was about to ask him what he was talking about, but he answered that question rather quickly by grabbing me by the head and throwing me right over his body. I crashed face first into the ground, not having enough time to even try and break the fall with my hands.

"FUCK!" I shrieked as I could feel my nose and forehead already forming a dark bruise. Blood spilled from my nostrils, and I had to admit that was a good move. I wasn't expecting that.

Luckily, I still had enough of my wits to roll out of the way before he could land a punch to my lower back, which probably would have paralyzed me temporarily, thus letting him win the fight. His fist made a very slight indent in the tiles and my eyes widened at the sight. Jesus, maybe I would have been permanently paralyzed from the waist down, and it would be goodbye to the sexy times forever. I nearly cried at that thought.

"Christ!"

He jumped up again, but this time his maneuvers were much faster and I found it increasingly difficult to even get in one hit. Something tells me he was holding back before, but now he was letting it all lose. It was no longer all fun and games between us. This was meant to feel like a real battle. A familiar sense of dread filled my chest, and I felt like I was fighting Damian again. This fueled my fire, much to my pleasant surprise and soon I was matching these intense, blinding movements of my body. It was like I was training for the army, jesus.

Demetri ended up throwing me down a few times, each time I would get right back up and do the same to him. Or at least I would try. I didn't quite do that, but I did remain completely mature for the duration of this fight. I didn't try and use my body as a way to distract or fluster him so I could get the upper hand. Because I'm pretty sure if I tried something like that with a real enemy, it wouldn't get me the same satisfying results as it did with him.

Our arms tangled up in a heated battle to get at each other's faces, and at one point, he threw me over his shoulder and then threw me back down again WWE style. My spine was on the verge of breaking in half at this point, but I couldn't let that get to me. So I didn't. I rolled over, jumped on top of his back and started clawing viciously at his eyes. He tried prying me off of him, but my legs were wrapped tightly around him, so it didn't work. He resorted to backing into the wall and slamming me into it, trying to get me to fall off. But much to my luck, to no avail. It hurt like hell, and I was about ready to burst into tears. But I repressed those useless tears and instead unraveled my legs from around him myself while keeping a firm grip on his head. I used my legs as leverage to swing myself around his body, taking him down with my. I landed in a low crouching position while he went slamming down to the floor just like I did. His face made good friends with the tiles and I could hear a crack emitting from his face just like it did with mine and I smiled with satisfaction.

The next thing either of us knew, I had jumped right on top of him and grabbed onto his head once more. Only this time, I pulled it backwards, ready to snap it at any second. Any sharp, or sudden move with my arms meant he would have a broken neck in an instant. He was now at a heavy disadvantage, and I could tell his energy was depleting very quick. And so was mine.

My hands were slick with sweat, my hair was sticking to my face and all my muscles were ready to just give out at any second. I was fucking exhausted and I was really hoping this was the end of his test. If not, it looks like I'll fail.

I kept us in the same position for a few more moments, and when I was sure he wasn't going to try and make another move again, I slowly, almost sluggishly removed myself from him and went limp on the chilly floor. My eyelids were significantly more heavy now then they were when I first got here. I was about ready to make this floor my new bed. In fact I was so out of it, I didn't even notice Demetri getting up, grabbing something and then looming right over me. I re-opened my watering eyes to see him handing me a bottle of water he must have had storied in one of those many suitcases. I shakily took it and we both sipped from our bottles simultaneously. If I weren't ready to drop dead from exhaustion at any moment, I would have made a joke about how in sync we seem to be.

"You did well, Sheba." he panted.

"You too, Spiegel." I replied back in a breathy voice.

I won't be able to move at all by tomorrow morning, I can just feel it. Fuck.

"Did I pass?" I fucking better have.

"With flying colors. Much better than I expected. You outdid yourself, kid. I'm proud."

"Thanks."

Things were quiet for a few moments before Demetri led me over to where all the suitcases were set down all next to one another. Oh, that's right. He was planning on finally explaining to me why these weapons were so important.

He opened up the first case to show a few basic block pistols, and I was less than interested. I think he could tell.

"These are just regular old handguns. Nothing special." he started. I eyed him curiously as he opened the next suitcase after first entering a four digit code to unlock it. He opened it slowly, and my eyes trailed down to see what was inside. Part of me was expecting to see a similar case of weaponry once more, but something in the back of my mind told me that's not what was in here. And that something was correct.

They looked like weapons, yes. But they were much...much different.

They still looked like guns, but not the kind that I was familiar with. They were akin to something from a Final Fantasy game or from Perfect World.

They were clear in color, yet when light was reflected off of them, shades of light pink and blue showed up. What was even more astonishing about them was when Demetri picked one up, I couldn't see his hand through the glassy material. This just didn't make a lick of sense to me. It looked transparent, it looked like  _glass._ I was afraid he would drop it and it would just shatter to pieces. It looked like a prop. Not an actual gun. 

"What the hell..." I whispered, trying to keep myself from reaching out in amazement. This was something extraordinary, it had to be otherwise he wouldn't be showing me these. This was clearly something I didn't understand. Something I've never even heard of before, whatever these things were...they must have been special. Rare. Valuable. Where could he have gotten these? Did he make them? Were they even real?

"Demi, what...what are these?" I almost stammered. He looked back up at me with a knowing smile. Not a smirk, this time.

"These, my friend, are what we call enchanted weapons."

"Enchanted weapons..." I repeated. "So...are we fucking wizards now?" I scoffed yet my eyes were still as wide as can be. This, this was certainly nothing short of fucking magical. I had to do something in order to ensure that this wasn't just a weird, trippy dream of mine. That this was real. So I pinched him.

"Ow! What the he--why did you pinch me?"

"Sorry, I had to make sure this wasn't a dream."

"Well you're supposed to pinch yourself, not someone else you dumbass."

"Ssshh..." I shushed him and stared closely at this enchanted weapon.

"Care to elaborate on these?"

Demetri ignored me suddenly pinching him to make sure I wasn't just dreaming, and continued.

"Enchanted weapons. They start off as just normal ones at first. But you bring them to a demon ruler, and they have the ability to turn them into something much more...vital...damaging."

"Damaging?" I queried. Demetri nodded.

"Yes. You see, the difference between regular firearms and these bad boys, is they can actually do real damage to us hell spawns. Just like a regular gun would to a human. Shoot a demon with a normal firearm and he'll be mildly inconvenienced at best. Shoot him with something like this...you could kill him with one shot."

"You said only rulers have the ability to make these sorts of weapons...how did you get a hold of these?"

"I made them myself."

I reeled back like I was just antiqued in the face. "I'm sorry, is there something I'm missing here?"

"Before Damian made Valerie the new queen, I was a ruler alongside with him. I made these bad boys," he gestured toward the weapons. "and lucky for us, they don't lose their...charm....after I'm dethroned."

"That's good..."

He looked back to me with those neon eyes, and I stared back knowing full well that mine were glowing a bright crimson.

"As far as I know, these are the only enchanted weapons in existence. That's why I waited so long to show you. We can't just go around using these like every other firearm out there."

I tilted my head to the side. "Because they'll eventually run out of bullets?"

"No," he shook his. "the convenient thing about these is they never have to reload. But on the other hand, if they take enough beatings, they'll start to crack and soon, shatter like a broken window. After that, they're completely useless. And since these are the only ones in existence that I know of, I can only afford to bring them into combat on very rare occasions. At least until I can find a way to get more of these."

"Do you know if Damian is able to make them?"

"Well of course he is able to. The question is, does he know how?"

We both fell into another thoughtful silence and I pondered the answers to this question. If the answer was no, then that would pretty much be an advantage to us. Because then, that would mean we basically have unlimited ammunition to fight against his army. But if the answer was yes, then that would mean he was the same advantage. And who knows, maybe we could be stuck in a stalemate for centuries to come.

I reckon that would get old really fast.

"Would you like to try?" he offered. I was very tempted to take him up on it, but then again, I really don't feel like running the risk of breaking one of these things and putting us at an even bigger disadvantage. It's bad enough we're outnumbered. At least as far as I can tell. I don't know how many other people Demetri has been training to fight in this revolution, if he's even training other people at all. So instead, I shook my head.

"No."

"Are you sure? I'd think you'd be all over these things."

"I just don't wanna end up destroying one of them."

"You won't destroy it."

"No, but...I just don't think I'm ready for something like that quite yet. I'm afraid even if you tap me with your finger, I'll fall over and die."

He tapped me on the chest. I cocked my head to the side and gave him an an amused, and unimpressed glare. That patronizing little shit.

"I smell an exaggeration."

"I smell someone who's about to get kicked in the fucking throat."

"Please, you can't barely move at all anymore."

"I will end you!" I spat.

"Yeah, good luck with that."

"Ugh!" I groaned and instead of trying to win the argument this time, I simply leaned back onto his shoulder and shut my eyes without thinking much. Even thinking at this point was exhausting.


	34. Hard Times

**Winter's POV**

Once again, today wasn't much different than the ones for the past two weeks. But it was still different.

I could tell Gerard was getting fed up with me always 'blowing him off' every night in favor of something else. I always told him it was because I had a lot of homework or that my mother needed my help with something. But I could tell my lies were slowly becoming more and more transparent every time I told them. He was soon able to see right through them now. But I just didn't have the time to try and convince him that I wasn't being unfaithful or dabbling in things I shouldn't. The latter was debatable. I'm 17 years old and I'm already participating in a revolution that could possibly kill me and everyone I know and love. I'd say that's pretty dangerous.

"You're leaving again..." Gerard said in a monotone. It wasn't even a question this time. More like a dispirited observation.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. I could tell he didn't but it one bit, but he didn't argue or even say anything. He just heaved a sigh and I knew he wanted to just collapse on that bed and close his eyes. But since he's too good of a boyfriend for me, he gently ushered me closer to him with his hand on my wrist and pulled me down for a goodbye kiss. I cupped his cheek lovingly and reminded him that I loved him.

"I love you too." he said, though he sounded like he was on the verge of falling asleep. I felt a little pang in my chest. I felt awful, every single time I had to leave him by himself, I felt like I was committing a felony. He didn't deserve to be all alone like this all the time. I know how he gets whenever nobody is around. I witnessed it the first time I met him when school was starting. He gets antsy, fidgety, and somewhat anxious. It could be worse, I suppose. He could be having the urge to hurt himself. But in any case, leaving him was always a difficult task for me. I just wish I could tell him the real reason why I was gone all the time, now. But if I did, Demetri wouldn't be happy with me one bit. So I kept my mouth zipped.

Instead of meeting Demetri at the warehouse like we've been doing for a while, he informed me early this morning that we'd meet at a diner instead.

"We've been working our asses off for a while. It's time to get a break and just get something to eat instead of being the shit out of each other." he had texted. I kind of agreed. Hell, my muscles still ached like I was hit by a bus from that little 'test' I took.

It was a little place a few blocks from my apartment called Johnnie's. It was almost like something you'd see from the fifties. I think I heard Elvis playing in the background. A smiled entered my face the second I walked inside and met this warm atmosphere. It was definitely a nice change from the dark, almost eerie one I always got at the warehouse. The warehouse was dimly lit and with the amount of debris left on the freezing floor, it felt post apocalyptic. You can imagine the relief I felt when I instead arrived at a homey place where the employees greeted you with open arms when they saw you. I smiled and waved shyly back at them.

The whole thing with me being terrified of new people may have been a bit of an act, but I still felt anxious in settings where there were so many people around me. But my anxiety level was significantly low here. I'll have to remember this place. Maybe I can bring Gerard, Frank or Mikey here one of these days as a sort of apology for being absent more so than usual. They more than deserved it.

I scanned the place out for a few seconds, searching for Demetri. I eventually spotted him near the far corner with his arms folded across the table and what looked to be a soda in front of him. I briskly strode over to him and sat myself on the opposite side of him. He grinned ardently.

"What's up, Sheba."

"Nothing much..this is a nice place," I concluded after a final once over of the area. He agreed with me, and a chipper blonde waitress came over to take my order. I ended up just getting a Sprite and nothing else. She left shortly after and my attention was back on my comrade. "I like this." I said again.

"So do I. Believe it or not, I didn't like being in that warehouse all the damn time any more than you did."

"No, I believe it." I chuckled.

After the waitress brought me my Sprite, I thanked her. She left again after making sure I didn't want to order anything else, but Demetri piped in and ordered some fries for us both to share.

When she was gone, his smile faded some and he stared down at the table, mindlessly stirring his drink with his straw.

"I have a feeling this wasn't just meant to be a fun date."

With a sigh, he replied "Unfortunately, you're quite right."

"Figured."

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" he asked out of the blue. I blinked in surprise and remained quiet for a second before I got to thinking.

Tomorrow was a Monday, meaning I still had school to attend. Then after that, I would come and meet him as per usual either for a training session or discussing further plans of action. I told him exactly this and he nodded.

"You're skipping school tomorrow." he decided. I furrowed my brows and cocked my head, but didn't try to argue it. If he wanted me to forget all about school tomorrow, then it would be for a good reason. He doesn't just command things like this for shits and giggles.

"Any particular reason why?" I asked.

Demetri sipped from his drink and sighed, almost as if he were trying to prepare himself for some unpleasant news. With this in mind, I mentally started to do the same.

"I know I haven't exactly told you all the details of this fight yet. But despite this, I'm sure you know it's not just you I've recruited to be an soldier, so to speak."

I nodded this time. "Naturally."

"I have quite a large group of others exactly like us. Exactly like you. The thing is, they're all hiding out up in Westchester. There, they practice much of the same stuff we do. Combat training, expanding our arsenal, the sorts. They...we've started forming a new plan, and I still have yet to officially enlist you as one of our own. And that's what I'll be doing tomorrow."

"So in other words, we're going on a road trip to Pennsylvania?"

"Yes. I'll be there at your apartment to pick you up around the same time you leave for school in the morning. So I'd start packing as soon as you get home tonight."

I nodded for the umpteenth time and in my head, I was already making a list of all the things I would need to bring. Clothes, toothbrush, wine, (because I can't get through excruciatingly long car rides without some sort of alcoholic support) you know. The necessities.

"How will I explain my absence to everyone?"

"You don't." he deadpanned. I raised a brow and waited patiently for him to explain. Before he got a chance to, the waitress from before was setting down a basket of fries in between us and asking if we needed anything else. She left to tend to other tables again and Demetri popped a crispy fry in his mouth before continuing. "This trip is much more important than being afraid of your mother possibly grounding you when you come back. Chances are, you won't even go back home when we do get back."

My stomach dropped to my knees and I could feel my face paling by the second. I must look like a vampire if I already didn't before.

"Will-Will I see them again at all when we come back?"

Demetri pursed his lips, and I feared what he would say next. And for good reason. I wish I hadn't asked the question in the first place.

"I can't say for sure. You very well might, but...with the kind of thing that's about to go down here within the next week, you might now...and as much as I hate to say it, it's very likely you will lose people you care about. This fight we're in is not just a fight. We're not just treating it as a was. It  _is_  a war. And so, casualties are to be expected."

By now, I was completely frozen in place. My stomach churned awfully and I imagined the events in which I would lose Gerard, Brandon, or god forbid, Okaasan. I wanted to tell myself that that wouldn't happen. That the chances of this were slim, but in reality I knew the odds of them kicking the bucket had increased. Even if I hadn't agreed to be a part of this war, I would have still ran the risk of losing them forever. Hell, there's a possibility that I could lose my own life. Just like he said, this is a real war weather we call it that or not. Everyone is susceptible to death no matter what we may be. Demon, human, or a combination of both.

"Okay."

I couldn't think of anything else to reply with. I don't think there was anything else to reply with. There was nothing either of us could do about our current predicament, other than fight back against the enemy. The worst thing we could possibly do is sit back and watch it all unfold, watch as the Maligns take over, ravage, and rape these innocent people.

Now I've never been a fan of the human race for as long as I can remember. They did quite the same thing as the Maligns are trying to do to many other nations. But if we it back and just let this happen, neither us nor the enemy were any better. Actually, in most respects, I'd say we're much much worse. At least most humans don't go around preying on non suspecting souls and attack, and sometimes kill off someone they had loved. Which is exactly what happened to me.

Part of me wishes that Damian had killed me instead like he had originally intended. Then, Naomi would have gotten to continue living. She would have been able to graduate high school and college, and find another woman to settle down with. A better woman than me, even. But a part of me, the guilty part, is a little glad I lived through the tragedy. It would have been much preferred if we had both survived, but since I'm alive I am able to contribute to the war to protect the humans. I'm able to to possibly avenge the wrongful murdering of my love.

At this point, I'm willing to compromise the relationship I have with my current lover, my friend, and my mother if it means fighting for a noble cause. I'm willing to put them as second priority if it means protecting the world humans have created. Because despite the millions of flaws I could think of right off the top of my head, I love the society they've built. Surely it's a much better one than us demons would have created if we were the leading species.

"Winter," Demetri started. He called me by my actual name this time. Usually he doesn't do that unless he's irritated with me, or he's trying to be really serious. "you always have the option of backing out."

"Why would I back out?" I questioned. I looked at him like he was crazy and to some extent, I felt insulted. He doesn't think I would just back out, give up just like that. Does he?

"Because normal 17 year old girls like you shouldn't be worried about preserving peace within human society. A normal 17 year old's biggest problem should be deciding what to wear for their date to prom. I hate that I'm just realizing this now, but I shouldn't have asked you to be one of my comrades." he looked me in the eye almost as if he were about to start crying. I could tell what he said was genuine by that little shimmer in his gaze. The one where it seemed they would break down at any moment.

"Demetri, I've been fighting against these monsters for over a year now. Even if you hadn't recruited me, I would have still pursued in my dream of getting rid of them. Don't think about how old I am or what I should be doing instead of this. Because there is  _nothing_  I should be doing in place of this. I'm young, yes. But I'm still one of you. I'm still determined to fight. So please, please, please...try not to think about details like that. Besides, you're not that much older than me. You're like, 19, 20 years old?"

"18 actually."

"Case and point." I chuckled airily and gestured to his tall, lanky frame with both hands. "I'm pretty certain most 18 year old guys aren't leaders of armies such as this one."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." he chuckled back like what we were discussing was actually worth chuckling over.

"I am right." I stated, but not in a condescending or matter-of-fact voice. For once, I was soft spoken and careful not to seem insensitive or rude, or like I was looking down upon him. I'm too short to look down upon him anyway.

"You're way too grown up for your own good, you know that?" he pointed out. I guess I agreed with him to some extent. Although, I don't think I reached that point until after Naomi was taken away from me. Before then, I was just like any other 15-16 year old teenager. I was suffering from the same conditions as many of my peers. Depression, bullying, anxiety, loneliness, all of that fun stuff. But now, those issues seem so null to me because now I have other issues to worry about. Issues that don't just affect me, issues that effect the entire world.

"I could say the same thing to you, Spiegel." I countered with a smile despite it feeling like someone was stomping on my heart with boots on that had nails driven into the soles. That's another skill I obtained after Naomi's death. Suffering on the inside without letting anybody know it's happening.


	35. O.D.D

**Winter's POV**

Lying to my mother about not attending school today was surprisingly easier than I anticipated. I guess all the practice I've had in lying about how I really am does pay off in some form or another. And lucky for me, I didn't have to carry around a ton of giant bags for this trip. I easily fit two outfits, all my basic necessities, and all my daggers inside my fairly large school satchel. This way, I didn't have to explain to Okaasan why I packed so heavily or why I was even packed in the first place.

Demetri was parked about a block away from my actual apartment just like he said he would be. I took my satchel off my shoulder and slipped into the passenger seat, shutting the door before situating and preparing myself for this three to four hour car ride. Rena Lovelis's slightly nasally voice oozed from the radio and I instantly started tapping my fingers along to the beat. The vehicle began making its way toward Westchester, and Demetri looked over at me with a toothy grin.

"Morning sunshine!" he beamed. I rolled my eyes at his over the top enthusiasm.

"Likewise, Spiegel." I answered, my voice still laced with the remnants of my deep sleep. Don't be fooled by my full face of make up, winged liner cherry red lips and perfectly curled hair. It was taking all of my willpower not to close my eyes and fall asleep with my face pressed against the window. My body still felt just as sluggish as it did when I woke up this morning, and I was secretly thanking Demetri for making me skip school today. And the next, and the next. In fact, I'm fairly certain school will no longer be on my list of priorities from here on out. Which is sort of relief. I am fully aware those stresses will only be replaced by even more taxing jobs but, I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.

"No offense hun', but you look ready to slump over and die right about now."

He pin pointed exactly what I was feeling inside. What a genie.

"Well, you're not wrong there." I said. He let out an airy chuckle and made a turn towards a Quick Trip convenience store. I perked up instantly, and I undid my seat belt before the car was stopped.

"I figured we should stock up a bit before we put ourselves through this excruciating ride."

I didn't respond to him, instead I sped walked inside and turned into Usain Bolt when I spotted the freezer containing all my favorite energy drinks. I could practically feel Demetri's eyes burning holes into the back of my head, quirked brows a less than amused sigh. I knew he was silently judging me, but it was 6:15 in the morning and I was about to spend over three hours in a small car with someone (as close as I am with him now) I've known for less than two months. It may be different for everyone else, but I typically never enjoy road trips with people I'm not supremely close with. I was skeptical even when Naomi wanted to take us to Vermont for a weekend.

But in all fairness, this trip wasn't a vacation. It was a fucking death wish.

I grabbed about five or six watermelon flavored Rockstars and endured the odd look on the cashiers face when he saw just how much of a caffeine addict I am.

I'm not, really. Energy drinks were never really my favorite, but I'm gonna need them today for obvious reasons.

I walked out of the store with the bag full of liquid heart disease and hopped back into the passenger seat. It took Demetri a little longer to come back. It felt like an eternity, though it was only another two minutes. I started flipping through the radio stations, scoffing at any of the dumb pop/trap songs that came on before I finally settled on a station that was playing Paramore's  _Still Into You_.

Just as the chorus was kicking in, Demetri opened the driver's door and caught me passionately lip syncing along to the cheesy lyrics. I didn't let his deranged look stop me from letting myself enjoy this tune to the fullest extent. Not even when I handed him one of the Rockstars I got, or when he tossed me a bag of yogurt pretzels did I stop. It wasn't until it was over did I crack open one of my drinks and sip gratefully from it.

"Didn't know you were such a big Paramore fan." he stated blandly.

"Quiet," I warned in a mock threatening voice, placing the full can into one of the cup holders between us.

The next twenty to thirty minutes were spent bantering back and forth between us about stupid, random topics and belting awfully to songs that came on the radio that we loved. Sometimes they weren't even songs we loved, just ones that were catchy and easy to go along to. We exchanged anecdotes about the first time we ate edibles, our most humiliating moments in school and the most awkwardest of phases when we younger. He told me about the month he flat ironed his hair every morning and applied dark pencil liner to his water line in order to make himself look like a taller, lankier love child of Ryan Ross and Pete Wentz.

In return, I disclosed to him the time when I was 13 and went through my Otaku phase where all I wanted to watch was Pokemon and eat pocky. I physically cringed at how awkward and obnoxious I used to be. I'm so glad I've improved since then. Maybe not by much, but it's improvement nevertheless.

There was also the weird phase I went through in middle school where I started screaming inappropriate profanities at all of my peers in Japanese. Once upon a time I was a much angrier version of myself where it seemed like I was constantly on my period. Needless to say, it got on my mother's nerves, my teachers nerves, and on my nerves now that I'm looking back on it today.

"Fuck you," I shot to Demetri. He looked at me like I was insane before quickly diverting his attention back onto the road ahead.

"Fuck me?"

"You're making me cringe with all of these embarrassing memories, I do not appreciate that."

"I'm cringing along with you!"

"I would prefer not to cringe at all."

"Whatever."

I was absentmindedly chewing on my nails and staring out the window by this point. I marveled at all the buildings we were speeding past and all the people I tried to study for as long as I could before we left them behind. My mind felt completely blank at the moment as I watched the world before me just...fly right on past us.

I couldn't understand why I wasn't anxious and brimming with angst. I had literally agreed to give my life if it meant fighting in this war. I haven't even really lived my life yet, and I was already giving it up. In a lot of ways, I know it's wrong. I have reasons to continue living, I know this. It's not a matter of me being suicidal anymore. I have Gerard and the boys, I have my mother, I have my new best friend. I have Scapegrace. So why was I so ready to just throw it all away in favor something that will be the death of me?

On the other hand, if I don't do this then my life might turn in a living hell anyway because whether or not I join this battle, it will still happen. Something major will go down and it will have a life altering affect on us all. We could all be easily eradicated with the flick of a wrist.

I could just envision it in my head, Okaasan and I sitting along in our apartment. Maybe we're watching old sitcom reruns, maybe we're enjoying a nice take out dinner. Maybe we're sleeping, and all of a sudden the door comes flying open and in comes a swarming fleet of ravenous demons ready to rip us apart and make a feast of our corpses. I was so caught up in this morbid daydream that I almost jumped when Demetri's voice suddenly pulled me back into reality and I quickly looked over at him.

"You seem very dedicated to this whole ordeal." he commented, eyes still fixated on the road. "Especially for someone so young, why is that?"

My morbid daydream was replaced with a different one. Although it more of a memory than a day dream. My head was overflowing with images of Naomi's dead body being cradled in my arms while I still sand my broken rendition of a song I'd written for her called  _Cigarette Daydreams._

I decided I may as well just tell him the truth. As excruciating as it was for me to relive, I knew I had to eventually. Nobody in their right mind would believe for a second that I just woke up one day, decided to put on a stupid red respirator mask and kill off those pests we call demons.

"Because your brother took away the only person who ever truly understood and resonated with me on a spiritual level." I said flatly.

I didn't stop there, though. I told him every last detail I could think of, I reminded him every thirty seconds just how much I fucking despised his brother for what he did to me...for what he did to us. He ruined what would have been the best date of my life. He ruined any chances we had at building the future we pictured for each other. Her graduating from a NYU, us getting an apartment or house together. Maybe later on down the line, bringing a child into the picture.

I used to him in content whenever I thought about myself dancing around in what would be our kitchen with a pretty red dress on, and the aroma of something delicious in the air. I used to smile so widely when I thought about myself cooking dinner in the kitchen for my wife. But now I want to break down sobbing because that imagine now only reminds me of what I can't have. Of what Damian took from me.

I was fueled by my burning hatred for that man and everything he stands for. And what's more is I'm sure I'm not the only one who he's robbed a future from. There must be other people out there just like me who hate him for killing the one person they loved the most. If not, there are people out there who hate him for what he is trying to do to this world. He thinks it's his little plaything, like a kid stomping on a hill of ants. But it's up to all of us to prove to him that we aren't his fucking dolls for him to dress up however he wants. He won't get away with this. He won't get away with any of this.

It doesn't matter whose army is bigger or who has the bigger guns. It doesn't matter how much he thinks he's this omniscient god, and it doesn't matter who outnumbers who. What matters is that one day, Damian will no longer exist and this planet will be free from one more worthless vermin who thought he was all powerful.

Many people will wind up dead, and that's saddening. But that's okay, because it will be for a good cause.

This war we're about to risk/lose our lives for might turn out to be WWIII. Who knows, maybe this time around we'll drop nuclear bombs on the opposing side that are ten times more powerful than the ones that hit Nagasaki and Hiroshima to end it all. It doesn't sound very pleasant, but at this point I'm sure many will agree with me when I say that I'm willing to make that kind of apocalyptic, world ending decision if it means bringing that stone cold, sadistic motherfucker down. Hell, I'm fairly certain his doppelganger sitting right here next to me would gladly push a button to kill us all if it meant killing Damian as well. Our hatred for that piece of shit is very mutual, and it won't go away until we succeed in this mission. And I'm very confident that we'll do so with flying colors. We'll rip apart every single last one of his brainless pawns.

Suffice it to say we were born for this.

"I didn't think I could ever relate to someone the same way I relate to you, Sheba." he said after I finished explaining to him how Damian is the reason I find myself sometimes pretending Gerard was Naomi when we're holding each other late at night.

"How so?" I pressed, although if his situation was anything like mine he very well might not want to tell me at all. And that's completely fine.

"Remember the other day when I said I used to be king alongside him?"

I pondered for a moment, cocking my head. "Yeah..."

"Well...I suppose you could say I was one of them. A Malign, a Drac, whatever you want to call them."

"I've never heard them be called Dracs before." I chimed.

"It's a fairly new term I guess...I was one of them. I robed people of their blood for self gain. I was sick, and I didn't even realize it. It wasn't until he mercilessly tore my first boyfriend in half right in front of me did I realize just how fucked up we all were. Me, my brother, fuck...my whole family. They were all scum, and when I looked in the mirror I thought I was, too. Because I was. I don't want to see that every time I'm in the bathroom. I promised myself I wouldn't be that person.

So from here on out, I'm making a lifelong oath to myself and to everyone I'm associated with that I will be the exact opposite of that fucking monstrosity. I will not be the villain in this story. I will live to serve and to protect the helpless. I'll make sure the humans aren't turned into living slaves for them to screw over time and time again. I won't let myself succumb, or stoop to the levels that he has in order to maintain control. I will not be a dictator...I will be a heathen, a heretic, or just an outcast in general. I'd rather be one of those than be a part of his regime ever again. This, I swear by. I'll write this oath in blood. I'll give my life for this."

The entire time Demetri spoke, I could see his grip on the steering wheel getting tighter and tighter until his knuckles were pasty white. His jaw was clenched, I'm almost surprised none of his teeth came popping right out from how tautened it was.

I didn't think anyone could despite that man nearly as much as I did. But I guess I was wrong. Observing him and hearing him speak these words were enough proof to suggest that he hated Damian as much as I did. If not, more.

I didn't think he could be that heartless as to do something so horrible to his own brother. His own flesh and blood. I guess sadism doesn't have a limit.

I didn't know what to say at the moment because no matter what I'd say it wouldn't help the situation. I didn't want to tell him it'll be okay, because as he implied to me just the other day, there is a giant chance it won't be. We may lose everyone and everything we know. But the best we can do now is fight until we breathe our last breath. Until our lungs finally give out and we are no more. Then, our places will be filled by even more soldiers who will fight just as adamantly as we did.

So instead of trying to verbally comfort him, I simply reached out and opened my palm, offering it to him. He took a quick glance at it, and his facial features softened significantly. With one hand still clutching the wheel, he reached out and grabbed my hand with seemingly all the strength he could muster. I'm certain there will be indents in my skin in the shape of his fingernails, but I was okay with that. The pain I've endured in the past and the pain we'll all endure in the very near future will surely outrank this.

"You're not alone." I assured him. His thin, grim lips turned upwards ever so slightly and I cheered in my head. At least I didn't say the wrong thing like I was so afraid of doing. The last thing I ever wanted to do was upset him. I knew what he was capable of doing combat wise. Plus, he is the former Drac king. For all I know, he could still have all those special abilities that only a ruler is capable of possessing.

"I know I'm not alone." he responded after what felt like forever. "I have my loyal comrades, I have you as a friend...I'm very confident in all of our abilities. I don't feel alone anymore, thanks to all of you...Thank you."

I sniffled a bit and wiped at my eyes. I can't seriously be crying now of all times! I look like a weakling, plus this will ruin my eyeliner which took me about a solid hour for me to perfect this morning. I can't let some stupid tears come and fuck it up for me!

"D-Don't thank you, seriously. I should be thanking you."

"Why is that?"

"I think you already the answer." I said simply. If I actually started talking about him having faith in me as a viable option, a soldier, a comrade, then the water works would only get worse from here on out. And I'm sure it would be quite awkward for him, having to drive while this mentally unstable vigilante-wannabe is sitting in the passenger seat bawling her eyes out.

His grip on my hand only got tighter, and so did mine.

"We're not alone." he concluded. Our hold on each other's hand remained the same for a while until eventually, we start loosening our grip and letting go. It was apparent that neither of us really wanted to at all. But our hands were getting sweaty and if we kept this up, we'd probably end up both weeping like maniacs.

We exchanged one last meaningful look before I turned my attention back to the blurry world we sped by. Glancing toward the sky, I noticed the clouds had darkened by quite a bit since waking up this morning. They looked a dull gray-blue color, and ever once in a while a little lone raindrop would appear on the glass of the window. I knew it would start really raining down on us soon, and I was kind of looking forward to it. I've always loved the rain, ever since I was a little kid.

From my peripheral vision, I saw Demetri reaching over and fumbling with the radio. He kept switching back and forth between stations and groaning whenever he couldn't find anything decent for us to listen to. They were no longer playing anything good or catchy like Paramore or Hey Violet anymore. It was more like Fitz and the Tantrum, Rihanna, Brittany Spears (who I admittedly do enjoy listening to from time to time).

Instead of just making us sit through another two and a half hours of awful trap music, he opened up the console and retrieved a CD pf his own. He took a moment to insert it into the device and soon, I could recognize the familiar old guitars and quintessential voices of none other than The Beatles. The band who paved the way for many other rock bands to come after them. I perked up when the first chord struck and I shot Demetri a pumped beam.

"You are my new favorite person!" I exclaimed happily. He giggled at my giddiness and the fact that I knew the lyrics right from the get go. I spent the first track or two just lip syncing and belting out the words by myself, but then he decided it would be a fun idea to join in. And so here we are, sat in a car in what looks like the middle of nowhere now and we're loudly singing the words to every Beatles songs we knew. I'm sure cars and people passing by us were looking at us like we were deranged and psychotic. But no normal human being heard a song from The Beatles and doesn't at least tap their foot along to its feet. What kind of sick sadist would think to do (or not do I guess?) something like that?

Oh, wait. I already have the answer to that. He's 6'4, has blue eyes and his name rhymes with smamian.

Oh well. At least we don't have anything to worry about in this very moment. Later on will be a whole different story. But right now, things are okay. Things are good. In fact, things are pretty great.

If only it could stay like this forever.


	36. This Is How I Disappear

**Gerard's POV**

When Winter's didn't show up to class this morning, my immediate thought was that she must have gotten ill. She doesn't skip class very often, in fact I think this is the first day she's been absent. That must mean she's really sick, then. Maybe that's why she's been avoiding the boys and I lately. For a hot second, I suspected that she was being unfaithful but then, that didn't make any sense did it?

My Winter is much smarter than that. If she were going to cheat on me, she wouldn't make is this obvious. She'd actually make an effort to cover her tracks. Furthermore, she's too mentally closed off to sleep with anyone else. I'm not trying to say that's a good thing, but common sense tells me infidelity isn't a possibility in this situation.

This made me feel a little less anxious once the final bell rang. A few of my students uttered a farewell and I offered a smile back at them. The classroom was not empty, and as I packed up my things I dialed Winter's phone and held it against my shoulder. I waited patiently for her perfectly sweet voice to come pouring through my ear. When I got to her voicemail instead, I sighed calmly and put my phone back into my pocket. She must be sleeping, poor thing. I should bring her some soup or coffee, maybe that'll help make her feel better.

With this in mind, I dusted off the imaginary crud off my sleeves and happily started my way to our favorite cafe. As I was walking, nodding along to the beat in my head, I realized it was a bit warmer outside today than it has been. You could tell it was still January, but I found myself having to roll up my coat sleeves along the way. Spring was approaching fast this year it seems. I grinned at the thought. It'd be nice to take a trip to the beach over Spring break with Frank and Mikey. Ideally, Winter as well. But I doubt she could convince her mother to let her go off with three strange men she didn't know for a whole week.

My mind went quiet for a few moments as I walked. Instead of dwelling on future plans, I simply placed one foot in front of the other and observed my surroundings. The air, though it was warmer than usual, it still chilled my skin. I was tempted to take off my whole shirt at the wonderful sensation. I bet Winter would love to see something like that. I smirked at the idea, and I'm sure I looked like a lunatic walking down the street like this. Though I could never bring myself to care all that much. But that's far from being something new.

I waltzed into the little shop, got each of us a to-go cup of black coffee, and waltzed right back out with a feeling of being content infecting my mind. After I bring this to her, I should stop by the pharmacy nearby and grab a couple things that might help. Life savers, cough drops, the sorts...She'd like that.

Man, it's truly phenomenal how quick time flies by. Six months ago, I was a stranger to Winter and I was left to admire her from afar. She was but an enigma I never thought I'd solve. But lo and behold, here we are. I may not know everything there is to know about her, but this is only the beginning of our journey. I'm more than certain that there are many things to learn about her, just as there are many thing she'll learn about me. It's amazing how fast two people's relationship can develop and spring to life in the span of just half a year. Who knows where we'll be in another six months, or another full year, or another five years! Maybe we'll get a apartment after she graduated Hastings Academy, maybe she'll go to college or art school, and if not, she'll continue doing what she loves. And me? Maybe I;ll start working on my own comic book series while simultaneously passing on all my knowledge to my pupils.

I guess I just got so wrapped up in my own thoughts right now, that I was taken completely off guard when a frantic body smacked right into me and nearly sent the cups of coffee I held to the ground. The body who collided into me had nearly face planted the sidewalk as well. I glanced down at this person and saw they were fairly tall, had auburn red hair and brown eyes--Aki Kiriji. Winter's mother. Her hair was a bit frazzled, she wore nothing but some jeans and a tank top that was inside out and her eyes were filled with unadulterated terror.

"Whoa, Ms. Kirijo is everything okay?" I asked calmly. Without warning, Aki latched onto one of my arms and asked in a wild voice.

"You haven't seen my daughter anywhere, have you? I-I know you and her are friendly, h-ha--"

"Hey hey hey," I interrupted in a quick voice, set the coffee down on a nearby table and put my hands on her shoulders. "What is happening, miss? What's going on with Winter?"

Aki inhaled a deep, shaky breath and looked up at me with watery eyes. "Winter left for school this morning, but she never came back home and I received a call from the school. She never showed up! I've tried talking to anyone who might know her, but no one has seen her! At this point, I think I have to call the police! Please, you have to tell me if you've seen her at all, please!" she begged.

"I-I..." I trailed off. I wanted so badly to tell her that I have seen her, I wanted to give her the reassurance that her kid was alright. But at the same time, it would be awful of me to lie to her like that. Though I'm sure she's probably just with Mikey back at the apartment or even hanging with Frank, I don't think I could tell her that. Who knows what would happen if I told her she comes over regularly to be with her art teacher and his brother.

So, as much as I hated to do so, I told her the truth.

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am. I haven't..."

For the split second she spent just staring at me, I thought she would just break down right then and there. I was more than prepared to have to take care of her until she managed to get a hold of herself. It looked like she was about to start crying, and I thought she would. Instead, she yanked herself from my grip on her upper body and took off down the street as if there was a bomb about to detonate three feet behind her.

I was tempted to go after her, but she was already gone and out of my sight before I could make up my mind.

So I pursed my lips and started my way back to Mikey and I's apartment instead of Winter's. She would be there, I'm sure. She had to be.

But as I walked, I couldn't ignore this strange tugging feeling in my chest that told me otherwise. I tried to brush it off to the side. There was nothing to worry about. She's okay, she'll be alright. She's back at home, maybe watching anime with Mikey or browsing through my music library and dancing around to Paramore.

This didn't go as good a job as comforting me as I thought it would. There was still that foul stench of a thought that said something was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. Everything that's gone down in the past few weeks started thumbing through my thoughts. All those warnings from the Bratland twin about humanity's last downfall, Scapegrace becoming more and more bloodthirsty with each passing day, the king and queen slowly coming to power...something was definitely about to go down. I wanted to deny it, especially if it had anything to do with Winter. She shouldn't have any part of this, it could kill her. Hell, it could kill all of us. But I'm so used to living a semi normal life with her, my brother and my best friend that anything revolutionary or apocalyptic seemed preposterous. But maybe it's not after all...

Shut up Gerard! You're overthinking shit again! Just get home and make sure Winter's okay.

So that's what I did. I jogged up to my front door and briskly walked through to see the whole place was empty. Nobody was in the living room, Mikey was working a shift at the record store and Frank was back at home. I grew a little more anxious, and I called each of their names. I don't know why, because I knew they weren't there.

"Mikey!"

No answer.

"Frank!"

No answer. I gulped and bit my lip.

"Winter!" I tried for the last time. I stood my ground for a grueling full five seconds and still didn't hear an answer. Did she fall asleep in my room? It wouldn't be the first time. So I barged into my room, expecting to see her slumped over on my mountain of pillows, her waterfall like curls spilling over the covers much like a deity's. But when I went inside, my bed was just as empty as the rest of the apartment. My stomach dropped and so did the coffee I was previously holding. The hot beverage spilled all over the wooded flooring, but instead of cleaning it up, I got out my phone again and tried calling Winter's cell again. And again. And again until I just gave up. She wasn't answering. So I tried calling the other boys.

"Hello?" Mikey answered in a quieted voice.

"Mikey! Is Winter there by any chance?"

"At Zia's?" he replied.

"No, at the fucking aquarium--YES AT FUCKING ZIA'S!" I screamed as loudly as my voice allowed. I imagined Mikey recoiling and holding the phone away from his ear.

"Fucking christ, Gee! Calm yourself, would ya'? I'm at work!"

"Is she there or not!?"

"No, she's not. She's probably with her mom, or that new skater kid. Just calm down and go take a bath or something."

"Mikey, you don't understand--"

"I'm sorry, I've got a customer. I gotta go, I'll see you later."

"Mike--!"

The line cut off. He hung up on me. I clenched my hands into fists, growled, and tried Frank instead. If she's not with Mikey, she has to be with Frank.

"Hey Gee, how's it hangin'?" Frank answered the phone in a casual manner.

"Is Winter with you?" I got right to the point, which I'm sure took him off guard just a bit. But I don't give a fuck, I'd go over there and rip the answer out of him if I had to.

"Um, no I only ever see her when she's with you or Mikes. Why?"

"FUCK!" I yelled into the microphone. Wow, the amount of times people have to hold the phone away from their face in order to avoid going deaf is almost starting to worry me. But when I get angry and nervous, things like this always happen.

"The fuck! Gerard what's going on? Did you lose your girl or something?"

"I don't know! She's fucking missing, no one knows where she's at!" I yelled again, but this time I could feel something creeping up behind my eyelids. I pinched my eyes shut and tried my best to collect myself, but my racing thoughts were overwhelming me. Frank could probably smell my distress across the line. His composed voice started again, this time in a less casual and joking manner which I was glad for. Who in their right mind would laugh at a time like this?

"Whoa, okay talk to me, Gee. Why do you think she's missing?"

"I ran into her mother and she said she didn't show up to school and she's not with any of her friends, Mikey doesn't know where she is either! What do I do, Frankie--WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO!"

The last part of my sentence cut off in a horrible sob and I cupped my mouth with my hand to try and suppress it, but it didn't stop the overwhelming army of tears going down my face. Great. Just the perfect time for me to break down into tears like a scared little boy.

I certainly did feel like a scared little boy.

"I'm on my way there right now, okay--"

"Ms. Kirijo said she was gonna call the police, what does that--I-I-I don't know what to-"

"Gerard, calm yourself, you're not gonna accomplish anything by freaking yourself out like this, do you he-"

"Oh my fucking god." I slowly removed my hand from my face and stared blankly at the wall ahead of me. "What if Scapegrace finally got to her?"


	37. Dawn Of The Dead

**Winter's POV**

_*BUZZ* *BUZZ**BUZZ*_

"...fuck off....!" I had been dozing off for the past few minutes, and my little nap had been so rudely interrupted by this constant vibrating on my thigh. I knew it was my phone, but I had no desire to answer it. With any luck, it would be Gerard and I just didn't want to have to lie to him for the millionth time. Or worse, actually explain to him that I'm going to be recruited into the Benign army and more likely than not, die fighting. My head felt full and I was so tired. I know I should feel bad for ignoring him like this, for all I know he's worried sick and Mikey and Frank probably are, too. And I can't imagine what my mother must be doing at this moment. She's probably already called the cops. Oh well. That's the least of my problems at this point.

"Yo Sheba, I think your boy's calling." I heard Demetri point out from behind the wheel. I didn't bother looking at him when I responded.

"He can keep calling all he wants. No one's gonna answer." I said blandly. My head was still pressed firmly against the window and my cheek rested in the palm of my hand. God, I can't wait to get the fuck out of this cramped vehicle. It's not that I don't enjoy Demetri's company because I do, but you can only take so long of this before you grow bored and stiff. And not the good kind of stiff. I feel like a damn statue.

"Don't you think that's a little unfair?"

"What?" I lifted my face from off the window and gave him a quizzical stare. Just what was he trying to get at?

"I mean, you should at least let him know you're okay. He's your boyfriend after all, and you said you loved him, right?"

I continued my blank stare as my focused intently on the road and I scoffed. "And what am I supposed to tell him?"

I didn't get an answer. Instead of speaking, he simply huffed and didn't say another word. Part of me was grateful for that, because I didn't want to get into another heated argument. I mean, one second he's telling me that Gerard is a possible enemy but now he's telling me I should answer his calls and 'let him know I'm okay'? That doesn't sound like someone who wants to keep Gerard out of this whole mess.

"Remind me again why you think he's a Malign incognito?" I tested. I wasn't really expecting for him to give me an actual answer, so one can imagine my surprise when he did.

"Because I had him for my first hour last year, I over heard him and his lil' bro arguing about why he and Frank split up. Gotta' tell you, they weren't very discreet about it...If I'm being really honest, it's a precaution more than anything. He very well may be just an innocent bystander. But with this kind of thing-"

"You can't be too careful, I know I know. We've been over this a thousand times, I get it. I just had to ask." I didn't let him finish. I didn't feel like going through another one of his long spiels about how important this war was. I don't disagree with him, but after a while it starts getting old and boring really fast. At this point, he's beating a dead horse.

"Was just saying..." he mumbled under his breath. We both ended up letting out frustrated sighs at the same time. I was tempted to make a joke or some off handed comment about it because this sort of thing happens way more than one would think. But right now, I was exhausted, and so was he. I don't think either of us had the energy to deal with each other at this very moment. His main priority was getting us to Westchester before he pulls over and we both use those stupid enchanted weapons to blow our brains against the road. That would certainly be a bitch and a half of a mess to clean.

\-----

**Demetri's POV**

My knuckles were milky white and my eyes felt heavy as I stared blandly ahead at the never ending road. It's only been a couple hours so far, and we're already more than ready to get out of here. That just comes to show how low of a tolerance we have for road trips. I wasn't expecting for his little trip to be so awkward and cold, it certainly didn't start out that way. We were violently lip syncing along to The Beatles and playing kill fuck, marry in the beginning of this ride. But now, things have taken a slightly darker turn.

I won't see we loath each other's company at this point. No, I think it's something else. Call me crazy, but it might have something to do with the fact that we both might die within the next few days. And if we survive whatever hell and havoc that will surely come our way, then our lives will never be the same again. Who knows how long this war will last. We could end up starving to death or being gunned down by a fleet of vengeful Dracs(Maligns). Maybe in my case, I could end up being gunned down by my own flesh and blood. What a way to go, huh?

"I'm sorry." I said after another ten minutes of unbearable silence. Not even the low hum of the radio did anything to alleviate the tension.

I saw Winter's head of vibrant blue hair turn to my direction and I'm willing to bet she's looking at me quite strangely.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked, genuinely confused as to why I was apologizing. For a moment, I didn't know either. It just came out of nowhere, but even in the back of my mind I knew I still owed her one.

"For making you turn your back against someone you love. I know this can't be easy for you. I know I can't do anything to make it better, and no matter what I say things will still be the same. But still...I'm sorry." I concurred. I wish I could turn to reciprocate her gaze, but if I did that we might just veer off the road and end up rolling down into a ditch.

"You didn't make me do anything, Spiegel." Winter answered in a slightly more playful tone of voice. She even used that weird nickname that I didn't understand. She still won't tell me what it is exactly. "I chose this on my own, I agreed to be a part of this, so I'm going to be a apart of this. We've had this discussion time and time again. Don't say sorry when you have nothing to be sorry for." she concluded. I took a quick second to glance at her with unsure eyes and I caught a fast glimpse of her giving me a similar look. Then, without thinking I reached over and grabbed her hand, which was laid lazily out on her lap.

It wasn't anything romantic or concupiscent, it was simply me: a friend giving my upmost support to her: also a friend. A really good friend.

It almost baffles me how close two people can become in only the span of a few weeks. Before I approached her just as she was getting ready to take on the role of Scapegrace, we barely knew each other. We knew  _of_  each other, but nothing more. She knew I wasn't on the same side as my brother, and I knew she was working toward the same goal I was. I never expected for our friendship to flourish the way it did. But I'm most definitely not complaining. I'm glad I got to befriend someone as badass as her. She's like...she's like the best friend sibling I never got to have growing up. In all the years I've been around Damian, I don't recall ever having a single pleasant memory of him. He was always nasty, greedy and power hungry. Just like the rest of our family.

"We'll be alright." I reassured her. Well, I reassured us. I needed to hear these words just as much as she did. Though we both knew it wasn't really going to be alright, it was still nice to hear.

"Yeah," she started, giving me a playful once over and chuckling at how tightly I clutched her hand. Looks like I needed this more than she did. "We will be."

Her head turned back toward the road and we both sighed in contentment. It was silent again, save for the quiet murmuring of the stereo and Winter's occasional humming along to it. The silence between us wasn't awkward this time. Instead, it was comfortable. Wanted. Needed.

Things took a sharp turn, literally, when a group consisting of four or five men appeared in front of the vehicle and I came to a halting, screeching stop. It forced me to release Winter's hand from my grip and we nearly went flying right through the windshields. The seat belt dug painfully into my chest, and we both gasped.

"What the fuck!?" I yelled and looked up to see the group of men who I almost just ran over. Winter looked scared out of her mind, and I was just about to barge out of the car and demand why they would do something so fucking reckless and stupid! In fact my hand was already on the door handle when an explosive PANG came emitting from the front hood. One of the men had slammed his fist down onto said hood and glared inside at us like we were neo nazi's or something. It was then that I got a good look at their eyes, and I immediately gulped.

"Dracs." I muttered while Winter said  "Maligns." I almost rolled my eyes at her constantly reusing that word. Me and what I have so far of my army have all taken to just calling them Dracula's, or Dracs for short. It's much easier to remember, and sounds less corny. But that's besides the point.

"Whatdowedowhatdowedowhatdowedo-" Winter kept repeating over and over next to me, and I growled a little bit.

"You've dealt with this sort of thing before as Scapegrace, come on!" I argued.

"This is different, Scapegrace is a heartless stoic entity, I am not." she started hyperventilating, and I cursed. I could hear her damn panting from a mile away. I felt bad that she was starting to feel so anxious and terrified but now was not the time to feel that way. This is a matter of life or death and I don't know about her, but I don't really feel like being taken out by a lousy pack of Dracs out in the middle of nowhere.

"Hey!" I called to Winter and turned to face her. She didn't do the same, so I called for her louder this time and quickly smacked her across the face. That seemed to grab her attention real quick and her heavy breathing calmed instantaneously. "Hey, Winter look at me-look at me!" I ordered. "You can't afford to go blank on me now, alright? We're gonna fight these guys, and we're gonna be alr-"

PANG!

"Fuck!" I cursed and turned my attention away from the petrified girl right next to me. These guys were advancing on us. So without thinking, I let go of the gas pedal and tried ramming them all over like I should have done from the beginning. But their strength was keeping the car from moving forward or backwards. We were stuck, and we now had no other choice but to get out and fight them face to face.

"Channel your inner murderer Sheba, 'cause shit's about to get fuckin' real!" I said before kicking the door open and immediately sending a flying kick to one of the Dracs who interrupted our trip. From my peripheral vision, I could see Winter doing the same, only she head butt one of them instead and I mentally praised her. Unexpected, but bold. Seems I've taught her well.

I took my attention away from my midget, blunette companion and saw two of the Dracs who ambushed us coming right for me, pistols at their hips and razor fangs out; ready to bite, ready to ravish our bodies. I effortlessly slipped my switchblade knife out of my pocket and launched it straight into the Drac's eye who was to my right. He screamed in agony and brought his hands up to rip the blade out of his skull. In the meantime, I leaped up, wrapped my hands around the Drac's head to my left and swung my body upwards. Both my heavy combat boots practically impaled the already injured drag in the chest and I landed gracefully in a crouch while the Drac to my left collapsed to the asphalt. He'd fallen on his back meanwhile the other one was sent a good three feet away.

Since they were temporarily preoccupied, I took this opportunity to ghost across the hood of my car and kick a Drac about to sink its fangs into Winter in the lower back. He arched backwards and groaned/growled in frustration. I then shoved him to the side and caught side of the blue haired girl landing a side kick to the bottom of a Drac's jaw. With sweat already beading down the side of my face, I snatched him up by the skull and slammed it into the hood. It made an indent similar to the one in the shape of a fist from just a moment ago.

By this time, the first two Dracs I attacked had regained their fierceness and came at me at the exact same time as each other. They jumped to tackle me to the ground, but I anticipated this move from a million miles away. I ducked in time to avoid being sent flying to the other side of the street, stood back up, spun on my heel and beckoned them mockingly to come at me. They took this rather seriously and tried once more, but I snatched up the switchblade, which had been thrown to the ground and swiped at their faces. I then roundhouse kicked them both. One was struggling to get back up, the other one I had pinned under my knees as I stabbed mercilessly into his skull, over and over again until his bone was visible and I managed to break through that as well. In record time, I had his surprisingly not-pea-sized brain scattered sloppily all over the pavement. I believe some of it even made it onto my car, too. Great, just another mess I'll have to clean up.

"Demetri! Behind you!" Winter warned. I didn't heed this warning quick enough before a pair of arms grabbed me in a choke hold and forced me into a kneeling position away from the dead Drac's corpse. Before I knew it, another one came up in front of me and began kneeing, and kicking me in the face and chest with all of his might. His sharp bones and pointed boots rammed right into my nose and I'm fairly certain I heard something in my chest crack on impact. Blood was pouring from my nostrils already, and I was at a total loss for getting this guy to let up. Every time I tried to lift my hands, he would kick those away as well, and the hold on my neck prevented me from trying to scramble to my feet. For a hot second, I thought I'd never get out of this situation. That is, until Winter intervened.

I couldn't see what she was doing previously while I was being beaten to a bloodied pulp, but I could see her nimble figure come flying over my capture's head, tackling the Drac who had been slamming his foot into my face for the past thirty seconds. They both went rolling like a tumbleweed until she pinned him under her and began tearing mercilessly at his flesh with her sharpened canines. I wanted to watch in a starstruck gaze as she practically cannibalized this man, but I couldn't ignore the ever tightening grip on my throat, so I threw my head back and hit him in the chin. I then threw him over my body and was just about to make his life a living nightmare, until the last Drac tackled me from the side. We went rolling off this time, but before I let him take advantage of the situation, I bit ferociously at his exposed clavicle. He screamed, cursed and tried prying me off him, but my fangs were claws digging into his flesh, refusing to release. I was like a damn snapping turtle.

When I finally did rip myself away, I took with me a good mouthful of his skin and he screeched. I could feel pieces of his skin in between my teeth, blood dribbling down my chin. I must look absolutely deranged. I flipped us both over and snapped his neck as easily as if it were a twig. He was still alive and well, even after that move which isn't surprising for a hell spawn such as him, or such as us rather. But I knew better than to stop there. I didn't just snap his neck, I craned the whole thing all the way around so he was looking down into the gravel. And then I forced his head backwards toward me, my strength managing to yank his skull out of the place on his shoulders. I let out a booming war cry and threw it towards the other Drac running to stop me. But It was too late, I had already killed his friend, and I was about to kill him.

Two down, three to go.

Not bad considering it's been only about five minutes.

No wait, scratch that, there's only two left.

I knew this because when Winter stood up next, her entire face and a majority of her clothes were stained red and the man she was straddling previously was completely limp. He didn't move a single muscle, and I knew he was dead. When she saw I was going for another Drac in front of me, she nudged her head to something behind me. I knew instantly that she was warning me of another attack headed my way. Instead of punching the Drac in front of me as I had planned, I did a 180 spin and instead landed one to the face of the Drac behind me. He yelled out in frustration, nearly falling ass backwards like the twin towers but managed to catch himself at the last possible second. I wanted to glance over my shoulder to see how Winter was dealing with the other Drac, but if I did that, that might just be a death sentence. If there's one thing I've learned in all the years I've been practicing combat, it's that you never turn your back on your enemy.

I realize I just contradicted myself, but in most normal cases, I wouldn't ever turn my back on an enemy.

I remembered something that Winter always pulled when we were practicing one on one. She has this annoying yet effective move where she roundhouse kicks her opponent over and over in a continuous looping cycle, never giving them a chance to defend themselves or do anything, really. I can't even begin to count how many times this move has gotten on my nerves, but I can't deny how effective it is.

So with this in mind, I jumped up into the air and did exactly this. I twirled and spun in mid air, my feet never ceasing in their never ending attack on this poor soul. I caught sight of his nose and face already beginning to bleed profusely, his growls and curses becoming more and more heated with each passing second. Just like Winter always did, I made sure he never got a chance to kick me, punch me or sock me back. If this were a cartoon, his ears would be pouring thick gray steam. I almost laughed at that mental image, which only provoked him even further.

I finished off my barrage of ruthless kicks with one final drop kick square in the throat. I was going to go for the chest, but I figured this would do a lot more damage. And I was right. He choked and coughed, and I could tell the wind had been knocked right out of him. I smirked at this and watched him fall to his knees, tears starting to make a stream down his cheeks. How fucking pathetic.

He was too preoccupied with holding his throat, he didn't bother trying to defend himself when I came up and forced him onto his feet by bunching fistfuls of his hair into my calloused hands.

"Fucking imbeciles!" I chastised like I was speaking to an unruly, bratty child. They looked like unruly, bratty children in my eyes. "Interrupting our trip like this, how fuckin' rude! How would you like it if I just came and punched you in the face while you were driving, minding your own damn business? Huh!?" I scolded. The Drac said nothing and instead kept coughing and hacking, sounding like an elderly chain smoker in the process. I made his condition worse by kicking his feet out from under his and obnoxiously rubbing his face into the filthy asphalt.

When I looked back up, I saw Winter looming over the second to last dead Drac, even more blood staining her face and clothes. I wonder just what she did to make him bleed that much, and it seems she's done exactly what I told her too. Channel her inner murderer. I wonder if this is how she is whenever Scapegrace comes out.

She came stalking over to us, her feet bare. Her school uniform had been disheveled, her white button up wasn't really white anymore, it was mostly red. I could barely see the white coloring anymore. It was completely un-tucked from her pleated skirt and her over the knee socks were torn in some places. When I glanced up to see her face, I could clearly make out two full rows of jagged shark teeth. Not fangs like every other hell spawn I've seen. And her eyes were glowing a bright, neon red. It wasn't natural for a human, obviously, and I wondered what happened to her brown colored contact lenses. How did she get them off in the middle of combat?

She glared down at the Drac, then quickly darted her eyes towards me. I smirked and nodded down towards our last enemy.

"Go for it."

I didn't need to do or say anything else in order for her to spring into action. She lifted her foot over his head and waited for a brief moment, building up her leverage. When her foot came back down, it went straight through him. The Drac's head looked like a watermelon being stomped on. Blood and pieces of his brain flew every which way. I almost gagged at the sight, but Winter didn't seem phased by it. Or if she was, she didn't outwardly express it.

I retracted my hand away from the sticky red mess as quick as lightning and turned away from it. Winter looked at me blankly while I gathered myself and got back onto my feet. I stumbled a little bit, my head growing fuzzy from the sheer amount of violence and wrath I just experienced.

When I finally regained my composure, the glowing aspect to Winter's crimson eyes had gone down, but they were still bright red. The color itself wasn't unusual, many demons have unorthodox colored eyes like purple, pink, orange, sometimes even a plain yet creepy as hell off-white color. So far I've only seen one demon with that eye color, and they were very far gone mentally speaking. They were very ill and I'm glad to say they're no longer living today. I'd hate to have to deal with another Damian on top of all of this.

"You okay?" Winter asked in a much calmer voice, which almost went against the way she looked right about now. The blue in her hair was barely visible through all the blood and gunk concealing it. I gazed down at her and nodded.

"Yeah...and-and you?" I asked cautiously, I didn't want to set her off again. She nodded as well.

"Who the hell are these guys, why did they-how the fuck did they even know where we were!?"

"Hey hey hey," I walked toward her, ready to calm her down if need be. I couldn't tell if she was genuinely freaked out, super confused or pissed off. Maybe a combination of all three. "Calm yourself, Sheba. It'll be fine--"

"What if this happens again and we don't even make it to Westchester!?"

"Winter-"

"What if they end up  _killing_  us!?"

"That's not gonna happen!" I assured her. "We just have to be more careful next time, keep our eyes pealed. Make sure we're aware of our surroundings. Dwelling and being sick with worry over it isn't gonna do anything, okay? We're prone to more ambushes like this now, but we'll be alright. Alright? Just make sure you know where I am at all times, and I'll make sure I know where you're at. Okay?"

She heaved a very heavy sigh. For a moment there, I thought she would start crying or something. But no. Instead she just sighed like this was but a minor nuisance and nodded at my words.

"Yeah, yeah okay..." she muttered. But I could tell there was still something going on in her mind that was bothering her. But I didn't want to pry and potentially risk pissing her off again. The last thing I wanted to deal with was an extremely moody teenage girl on the rest of the way to our destination. Although in all fairness, we didn't have that much far to go before we reached Westchester. Maybe another half hour at the most, maybe less.

Winter and I got back into the car, and I drove right over the mess we made. I carefully veered past the five dead bodies scattered all over the road and soon, they became nothing more than a blob in the distance.

"Seriously, what was that? How could they have known where we were?" Winter spoke up again. My grip on the wheel tautened. I didn't want to think about the possibilities, I might end up having a panic attack while driving. But I also knew she deserved at least an answer. Even if I didn't really know it for sure myself.

"I...I can't say for certain but something tells me it's got something to do with my fucking brother."

"What, you think he's spying on us or something?"

"I'm not saying that exactly, but think about it. It's not that far of a stretch. For all we know he could be listening in to our conversation right now."

"Oh wow! Thanks! That's exactly what I want to hear right now! I just got down mauling three Dracula's or whatever the fuck you call them, and now I'm splattered head to toe in their filthy fucking pigs blood! And now I'm paranoid about Damian planting bugs in your car!"

"Hey it's not my fault you had to get so messy with the execution!" I retorted with a sassy undertone. She scoffed at my response and turned to stare angrily out the window. "Sheba," I called. She didn't answer me. So I tried again. "Sheba, look at me."

Still no response. So I did the only thing I could think to do. She obviously wasn't in a very talkative mood at the moment, and they always say actions speak louder than words.

So I grabbed her hand once more and didn't let go for the rest of the drive.


	38. Wild City

**Aki's POV**

This morning started out just like any other morning during the school week. I'd make a full pot of coffee and heat up some pop tarts or simple toast for us before Winter woke up. We'd spend the next few minutes eating, drinking coffee and making light conversation before we'd get our shoes on and I'd drop her off at school. Or other times, she'd insist on walking on her own, or a friend(Brandon) would pick her up.

Now, I was never one to worry too much about my daughter. I had high doubts that anything might ever happen to her. This is New York, there's people everywhere to witness everything. Although, that's not to say I was never cautious. I always had Winter shoot me a quick message to let me know she's alright. I'm not completely naive, I know about the student killings that have been happening recently, I know about the vigilante they call Scapegrace. I've read dozens of articles about it, hell, I've  _written_ dozens of articles about it. That's why I stopped letting Winter walk to school by herself. It was either I drive her, or she gets picked up by her friend. I wasn't about to come home one day and find out some Kaneki Ken ripoff tore my kid's limps from their sockets. But at the same time, my reasons for not being that much of a worrywart stemmed from the fact that neither me or her were exactly...human. 

We certainly look like them, that's for sure. And for the first twelve, maybe thirteen years of her life I was unsure of what she actually turned out to be. But I've seen the way her eyes shift and glow like that of a demon's. Now I'm more than certain that she's taken after her mother. And because of that, I'm certain she'd be able to defend herself if anything ever went array.

But a mother's concern overrides all else at the worst of times. My daughter is gone. I don't know where she could have went, she never showed up after school ended, and apparently she never even showed up to school. The only logical explanations I could come up with were either she and her friend decided to skip school and just never bother with the idea of returning, or someone got to her. Specifically, someone who wears a bright ruby respirator mask and all black clothing...

It seems like a bit of a long shot, but I've spoken to Brandon today and now he's worried sick about his new friend. I've seen him a couple of times throughout the city on his skateboard, wearing nothing but a t-shirt, boxers, and sneakers asking around if anyone's seen Winter Kirijo. I almost did the same thing, but simply asking random strangers on the side of the road won't do much, will it?

I tried calling her cellphone, I've been trying all day. But I never get an answer. I tried asking her favorite teacher, Mr. Way, if he'd seen her. But just my luck, he hasn't. I almost found myself getting irrationally angry at him for something he didn't have any control over. He is her favorite teacher, and from what I've gathered, they have a pretty solid friendship going on. But when he told me he had no idea of her whereabouts, my face got hot and my hands started shaking and I took off dashing away like running was going to help.

I tried looking into all of her favorite music and comic book shops. I think I may have checked every single one in the city, it wouldn't surprise me to find her sitting on the floor of one of the aisles, even if the shop was far far from where home was. She's unpredictable sometimes, It's not out of the range of possibility. So when I didn't find her in those locations, I started checking and hospitals and hotels. I went around like a crazy person, demanding to see Winter Kirijo. But it infuriated me when nobody knew who I was talking about. So I concluded she wasn't staying in a hotel somehow, and she wasn't being hospitalized. So now, I was at a loss.

I was sitting in my daughter's room on her futon mattress, the neatly made blankets having been disrupted by my body. My legs were splayed out lazily in front of me and my arms hung limp in front of my chest. My eyes felt heavy from all the crying, and I didn't know what else I could do. I've already called the police and reported her as missing. I hesitated because it's been only 12 hours, but that mandatory waiting period is a myth.

So now I was left to sit here silently, and cry. I didn't know where she was, and it was killing me inside. She could be lying face down in a ditch for all I know...

I didn't want to think about all the different ways she could have been killed, but my thoughts often betrayed me and I did anyway. This only increased my anxiety and at one point, I let out a scream so loud I'm sure I woke the neighbors if they weren't already asleep.

I wanted to do something,  _anything_. But there was nothing I could do. I was tired, so tired. But what kind of mother would I be if I went to bed at a time like this?

Gazing around her cozy, dark room, I took notice of all the band posters she had hung up, the giant red Asian fan hanging on the wall above her bed, all the gorgeous dresses I could see from her ajar closet door. Without even realizing it, I got up and opened the door fully and landed my eyes upon one single dress in particular. It wasn't something I've seen her wear a lot. In fact now that I think about it, I've only seen her wear it once. On a date. With Naomi Dawson.

I frowned but then managed a small, sad smile while looking down at it. It's such a shame it never goes to good use anymore. She's only ever worn it that one time...maybe she-

No. She didn't. She couldn't. She wouldn't. Right?

I let go of the bright crimson dress and without thinking much, I began rummaging through the rest of the cramped space. I knew it was wrong of me to do this, I always made sure to respect my kid's privacy. I know firsthand just how suffocating it can feel to have parents hovering over your shoulder twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. But goddammit! She was missing and if there was something in this room that could give me a clue on where she is then you're damn fucking right I'm gonna find it, and I'm gonna use it.

There wasn't much of anything in her closet except for her many dresses, robes and kimono's. There were crates along the floor, but they were only filled with David Bowie vinyls and various manga books. Nothing of any importance. I grit my teeth and exited the closet, and instead went for her dresser drawers.

I did feel like a bit of a creep when I opened her top drawer, which also happened to be where she kept all her undergarments and unmentionables. But I pushed them aside in search of anything else. If I know her at all, it's that she tends to hide things in places that generally make people feel uncomfortable. But she literally came from my vagina, I don't have much trouble seeing a couple of lace black panties that belonged to her every now and then.

Just as I suspected, it was a false bottom. I lifted up the fairly thin wooden barrier separating the undergarments from what was being concealed underneath. I dropped everything to the ground, including the false bottom and froze in place. My eyes were bulging out of my face and my jaw jaw went slack.

This isn't...this couldn't be hers, but...I'm seeing it. It's there, it's in her dresser drawer. It's hers, but there's no way she could have these!

Underneath the false bottom was an assortment of different knives, daggers, and what looked to be a machete. And if I looked closely enough, they had subtle red stains on blade...wonder what those could be.

I spent maybe another five minutes staring and pondering why she might have these weapons...but when I was done with that, I yanked open the second to top drawer and checked for another false bottom. Once I confirmed with myself that it was there, I ripped it off to find another set of similar knives and switchblades. And then I got to the third drawer and did the same, only this time, there were no knives to be seen.

There were two large silver Beretta's sat side by side inside a foam casing as well as at least five boxes of ammunition. A strong, potent sense of dread spread into my system, and I shakily lifted one of the hand guns up, examining it closely. I couldn't tell if it had been used or not, but...something in my mind tells me that it has.

There was still the very last drawer, and god only knows what kind of thing she was hiding in there. I wanted to know, but I was terrified to uncover it at the same time. For all I know, she could have a dead fetus in there!

_No no. Calm down Aki, she doesn't...she couldn't have anything worse than what you've already seen..._

But it was. It was so much worse.

When I lifted the last false bottom away, I dropped it in pure stupefaction. My jaw was slack, mouth wide open, hands trembling. Though it wasn't as traumatizing as a dead human fetus, it still made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It wasn't just two hand guns this time, it was full sized 12 gauge shotgun...complete with bullets and everything, even a few grenades right next to it...

I covered my mouth in order to keep myself from screaming and fell ass backwards. I was stoic and statuesque for a moment, but then a sudden rush of adrenaline caused me to jump back up and go for her nightstand this time. With what I just discovered in her dresser drawers, there's bound to be something in there...

And there was, but it wasn't as stupendous as finding a whole fucking armory in the dresser. There weren't any weapons in the nightstand, actually. But there were neatly folded up piles of black hoodies and overcoats that made it slightly difficult to open the drawers. The same kind of tops that people report Scapegrace always wearing...

Could she be...

\-----

**Gerard's POV**

Hours and hours have gone by, and still no sign of my girlfriend, anywhere. It's like she just disintegrated into mere dust out of nowhere. Aki's been on a man hunt for the past twelve hours, going all over the city where she thinks Winter might possibly be. Hospitals, hotels, shops, conventions, anything you could think of. But she was never there. At this point, I'm starting to consider the idea of her not even being in New York anymore. There wasn't anywhere else she could be, and I simply refused to even consider the possibility of her being dead.

No. We won't even go there.

Frank and Mikey have been scourging the city alongside with me, just as determined to find her as I was. It was late into the night, easily two in the morning yet we weren't even tired.

We had split up a few times over the course of three or four hours and often times run into each other. Currently, Frank was on the other side of the city doing scourging while Mikey and I were sneaking around a more secluded, ghetto area where the apartment buildings were old and decrepit. In short, this looked like a place where crack whores and diseased prostitutes came to die.

We weren't too sure why Winter would be in a place like this, but we can't rule out any areas no matter how unlikely it is that she'll be there. For all we know she could have a couple of lowlife junkie friends that she comes to hang out with over here. I personally don't think so, but I suppose it's a very minor possibility.

"Do you think maybe she left of her own accord?" Mikey spoke after an hour of complete silence save for occasional verbal updates on our findings, which were spoiler alert: null. I turned to give him a rather incredulous look and scoffed. He didn't know what he was talking about.

"Of course not! Why would you somethin' like that?" I replied as if he were insane.

Mikey scoffed in return and shook his head. "It's just an idea. It would make sense..." he mumbled the last part, so I could barely hear it. But I still heard it, and I wanted to know where he would have gone with that point.

"How so?" I pressed. I could tell Mikey didn't really want to continue talking about it, but tough luck. He'll deal.

"Well...she's been disappearing on and off lately, and it certainly doesn't seem like someone's forcing her to do anything. I'm not saying she's cheating or anything, she just doesn't strike me as that type of person, but...you can't deny there's something sketchy going on with her. Just...all I'm saying is maybe no one kidnapped or hurt her. It would make perfect sense for her to go off on her own."

"But what's the fuckin' point? What could she possibly be doing, going off by herself all the time? It's not like she's got this secret agenda, like she's secretly a Malign or something."

"No, but...Y'know what? Never mind."

I stopped suddenly and consequently, so did he. He pursed his lips and looked at me expectantly. I waited for a few seconds, waiting for him to speak up and elaborate. But I got nothing.

"No, don't never mind me, you can't just do that and leave it be! What are you trying to say Mike? I'm all fuckin' ears!"

"You won't like what I have to say!" he argued.

"If it's got something to do with her whereabouts then I don't give a fuck if it means she's cheating on me or a werewolf in disguise!"

"Tch!"

"MICHAEL!" I hollered.

"What if she's fucking Scape! Huh? Have you ever thought of that?" he finally let up, and I was at a loss for words. My eyes were taking up half my face, but not from surprise...from fury.

"How...fucking dare you say something like that!"

"I told you, you wouldn't like it!"

"Well I didn't think you'd suggest something so  _rash_!"

Mikey ran his nimble fingers through is now greasy light brown hair, glancing up at the bright moon real quick before averting his gaze back over to me. I could see the irritation and frustration building up in his facial expressions, but it undoubtedly couldn't compare to the raw vexation I felt bubbling up in my system.

"Is it that rash!? Don't you ever notice that all the time's Scapegrace has been inactive, Winter has spent days even with us, never leaving our sight? Don't you find it to at least be a little strange that she somehow knows how to handle herself in combat despite the fact that as far as we know, she's had no training whatsoever? Huh!? Come on, she's practically spelling it out for us! HEY EVERYBODY, WINTER IS SCAPEGRACE!!"

"YOU LITTLE SHIT!" I stomped up and shoved Mikey, making him stagger a bit before regaining his balance. "DON'T FUCKING YELL THAT SHIT OUT LOUD FOR EVERYONE TO HEAR!"

"So you believe it!"

"No! That can't be possible, she's a normal human girl! She can't make eye contact with strangers, she acted as if I had a fucking gun pressed to her head the entire time when we first met, she hid behind a fucking counter when Frank came over for the first time! You think someone like that is capable of taking off someones head with their bare hands? Or nearly destroying a whole block of the city in a battle against the king? If you genuinely think like that, then I just have to question your intelligence level!"

"I might not be the smartest person in the world, Gee, but you can't deny I have a point! There's something wrong going on with her and you know it!"

"Fuck off!" I tried brushing him off and going in another direction to look for my girlfriend, since he obviously was more interested in forming conspiracy theories against her!

"Where are you going?" he called after me.

"Away from you!" I yelled back.

"Oh wow! That's super mature of you! What, are you suddenly nine years old again!?"

"FUCK OFF!" I screamed for the last time before I decided I didn't want to humor him by giving actual replies. I know I'm reacting childishly, but I just couldn't believe Mikey would ever accuse Winter of being Scapegrace, a disgusting pig who'll do anything and hurt anyone in order to get what it wants. And he has the audacity to compare the two as if they have anything in common? I don't think so, that shit won't fly with me. He may be my brother, and I love him more than anything, but when he gets like this I can't help but react very negatively.

I was in the middle of putting a pretty good distance between us when I heard Mikey frantically scream at me like I was walking into some sort of death trap.

"GERARD STOP!"

Against my better judgement, I did as he told. But his voice seemed different. It was angry and trying to call me back to him just so he could remind of just how much of a child I was being. But instead, it was like he was warning me of impending danger not too far ahead of me.

I stopped mid trek and looked up at what I was about to walk towards, or into. I definitely wouldn't have seen it with the way my eyes were fixated on my sneakers and the debris that occasionally showed up on the ground. If Mikey hadn't warned me beforehand, perhaps I would have been a dead man.

When I looked up, there was a person with a much more feminine figure standing there ever so quietly. Black pants, black hoodie, a face I couldn't see...I've seen this silhouette before, a couple different times, in fact. I remember the first time, was when I thought this figure was Scapegrace without its mask. But then we later found out that it wasn't Scapegrace at all.

It was the queen.

I couldn't tell what Mikey was doing, I only knew that I was standing here right in front of her seemingly faceless face with no means of protecting myself or my brother. From the looks of it, she wasn't armed either. But she could very well be carefully hiding a whole armory on her person, and if that wasn't the case, she could just as easily use her mind abilities to cripple us both.

Thinking about this, I made I was extremely care with each and every breath I took, every movement of my eyes and ever twitch of my muscles. One wrong move and she could have us both on our knees, begging for the release of death.

Five agonizing minutes later, I could make out the queen stretching out her fingers and very slowly, almost melodically lifting her head to stare us, or me, down. A few strands of bleach blonde hair came falling out from under her head, and if I squinted my eyes enough I could see the faint outline of her cherry red lips. Her general appearance was eerily similar to Winter's in a lot of ways, but I knew it couldn't be her. She's much too tall.

I wanted to ask her what she wanted, or if she was going to kill me or not...or even if she knew where Winter was. And then it hit me.

She could be responsible for Winter's disappearance. I don't know how, and I don't know what she would even want with a normal human girl like her. But right now, my mind could think of no other logical conclusion. It had to be her doing, it just had to be.

Before Mikey or I had an opportunity to do something, the queen lowered her head after giving a soft smirk and turned back around on her heel. I had the nearly uncontrollable urge to tackle and pummel her for whatever crime she's committed against my Winter. But I knew better than to do that.

Once wrong move, and we'll all be demolished.

So I let her walk away.


	39. Two-Faced

**Demetri's POV**

As I continued to drive for another forty five minutes or so, we gradually got to see the layer of trees on either side of the vehicle grow thicker and the amount of passing cars grow thinner at the same time. The sky began to dim out with each passing minute, and things were significantly more secluded now. Instead of us starting to feel uneasy, this sort of isolation from the urban cities was somehow soothing in a way. The quiet hum of the radio was pretty much the only thing we could hear, and all conversations between us two had ceased entirely. We were sitting in the most loudest silence I had ever heard in a while. The radio had some sort of instrumental tune going where the soft percussion was the main focus. It created an ambience and I could see Winter curiously gazing out the window and all the vibrant leaves around us.

"Almost there..." I mumbled, and I knew she heard me for she shot me a split second glance before going back to her awestruck gaze. It was a little less astonishing to me, just because I've been here about a dozen times. But I remember feeling exactly what she's feeling right now during my first time. You wouldn't think one would care so much about such an isolated area of Westchester, but there's just something about this place that shoos away all lingering feelings of resentment, chagrin, and poignancy. I think that's why I chose this place as soon as I encountered it to be our main headquarters, so to speak. Everyone else in my band of soldiers seemed to agree, so there was no point in changing it. And boy, am I glad I didn't do that.

The trees grew more and more cumbersome and less dispersed the farther I drove, and the dark gray gravel road soon faded out in a dirt one. This only added to the somewhat lonely effect, but it wasn't necessarily a bad loneliness, if that makes any sense.

"What is this place...?" Winter half murmured under her breath, probably not expecting for me to answer.

"You'll see, Sheba."

We soon arrived at a gigantic, ten foot tall iron gate reinforced with concrete pillars sitting still on either side of it. The concrete was painted a bright, almost neon alabaster and there was a giant, overlooking design on top of the gate also made of the same material. The large logo on top was one of a spider, standing proud and shiny. The sunlight reflected brightly off the material and illuminated the ever darkening empty space surrounding us. The edges and ends of the spiders legs were razor sharp and pointy. It looked like the edge of a razor blade, and just as capable of scarring damage. It looked like it could just hop right down and attack whoever dared to trespass on this property.

Out beyond the concrete pillars, the black gate continued for as far as the eye could see. Each section of it contained a pointy arrow facing up towards the sky, not allowing for any intruders to try and hop over it and invade our safe quarters. Indeed, so much time, effort, and thought was put into the design of this manor. It's my baby, arguably my most prized possession... _our_  most prized possession. Of course I wasn't the only one responsible for this wonderful creation, all of my soldiers aided in it as well. So it wouldn't be fair of me to call it just mine. What kind of leader would I be if I just took all the credit for everything we've accomplished? I'm not just another Joseph Stalin or Kim Jong-Un.

Totalitarianism is, and never will be my forte. And that is a promise to my soldiers that I intend to keep until the end of my days.

Seeing as how the gate obviously won't open by myself, I hopped out of the drivers seat momentarily and sauntered up to the massive structure.

Right where the big padlock should have been, there was a four digit pass code and a place to punch in the digits. Engraved onto one of the pillars were very small, almost hard to see words that acted as a riddle for someone to solve in order to figure out the pass code. I smiled proudly to myself, as I had been the one to come up with this system. It was difficult enough to where nobody outside our army could decipher it without spending hours upon hours studying it, and it was just easy enough that if anyone were to possibly forget the pass code, they could just solve the riddle. Plus, the chances of someone outside of our army figuring out that the memo on the pillar correlated directly with the pass code were very minuscule. Let alone them taking the time to decipher it...it was perfect, really.

_"In here is a tragedy---_

_art though player or audience?_

_Be as it may, the end doth remain:_

_all go on only toward death._

 

_The first words at thy left hand:_

_a false lunacy, a madly dancing man._

_Hearing unhearable words, drawn_

_to a beloved's grave---and there,_

_mayhap, true madness at last._

 

_As did this one, playing at death,_

_find true death at the last._

_Killing a nameless lover, she_

_pierced a heart rent by sorrow._

 

_Doth lie invite truth?_

_Doth verity but wear the_

_mask of falsehood?_

_Ah, thou pitiful, thou_

_miserable ones!_

 

_Still amidst lies, through the end cometh not_

_wherefore yearn for death?_

_Wilt thou attend to thy beloved?_

_Truth and lies, life and death:_

_a game of turning white to black and black to white._

 

_Is not a silence brimming with_

_love more precious than flattery?_

_A peaceful slumber preferred to_

_a throne besmirched with blood?_

 

_One vengeful man_

_spilled blood for two;_

_Two youths shed tears for three;_

_Three witches disappeared thusly;_

_And only the four keys remain._

 

_Ah, but verily..._

_In here is a tragedy---_

_art thou player or audience?_

_There is nothing which cannot_

_become a puppet of fate or an_

_onlooker, peering into the cage."_

Indeed, you'd have to really know your Shakespeare and the Shakespeare anthologies in order to solve this one.

I turned my attention away from the long winded riddle and quickly hit the four keys before a creaking sounded, and the gates opened wide in front of me. I got back into the car and slowly took us in towards the property. Winter unbuckled herself and twisted her body to look backwards at the now closing gates, the big spider insignia still seeming to stare back at us, though it's back was turned. It was a rather creepy sight at times, but I've had many of my soldiers come up to me and say that the spider, despite how eerie it can be, seems more like a protector of this property's inhabitants. If you come walking out here in the middle of the night and you see that thing, you feel at ease.

I continued our drive for another few moments, going past a concrete or cement statue or other types of structures here and there. And soon enough, the main attraction could be seen not too far from where we were.

It was a monstrous mansion, larger than anything anyone else has built or probably will ever build, and exquisitely lavish in so many ways.

It had a very gothic, medieval feel to it. The main color over the manor was a dark gray, almost black one. There were two empire state building-esque towers connected to the main building on either side, and two sets of black staircases on either side as well. Two traveled up towards the mansion's main entrance, and two went spiraling up the towers.

To get to the front entrance, you'd have to cross over a small bridge overlooking a six foot wide river circling the home. Once you crossed said bridge, you would be greeted with those same tall staircases both going up to the large black double doors, which held the arachnid symbol smack dab in the middle. It was painted on so if you opened one door at a time, half the spider would be gone. There was also a small sized courtyard by the entrance with light gray cement graveling, a small water fountain with the same concrete spider on top and a little garden of red roses surrounding it, like the river surrounded the mansion.

I parked the car somewhere in the outskirts of the ravishing place where it would be hidden by the copious amount of huddled trees nearby. I then took her hand and led her up to the front entrance after crossing the bridge. I could see her gazing down in awe at the fish swimming beneath the surface, eyes big and full of wonder. Little sharp gasps escaped her mouth and I couldn't help but giggle at her amazement. This was one of those rare occasions when she seemed like a curious child as opposed to a bloodthirsty fighter.

"You guys seem to have a thing for spiders," she noted, as there were many symbols and paintings of them scattered all throughout the property. I nodded along with her.

"Yep, that's why they call me Arachnophobia." I replied.

I led her up one of the sets of stairs and slowly pried one of the large doors open, and beckoning her inside. She stopped almost immediately after stepping in and her eyes dashed across the whole room. Her jaw was going slack, and I chuckled at her reaction.

The interior was considerably much more lighter than the outside, lots of off-white's and red's everywhere. There was a long red carpet extending all the way to the other side of this massive room, which I suppose could be considered the living area. It was something akin to a hotel lobby, minus the front desk and trashy vending machines. You had to walk along for a little bit, passing big off-white, polished pillars until you got to an area where it separated off into two hallways on each side. They both led into hundred foot long halls complete with doors leading to bedrooms, playrooms, bathrooms, common rooms, even rooms that had a bar inside. If you ventured far enough into one of these halls, you would end up in the kitchen/dining room, which was massive enough on its own. I'd show that to her later, though I doubt she would have much interest in it.

Looking straight ahead upon entering, you would see yet another staircase straight ahead where the red carpeted rug continued upwards. The stairs went up and separated into another two separate pathways, leading into different parts of the mansion.

"This is like the fucking Spencer mansion!" Winter commented, and I chuckled once more, because she was right. I did model the interior after the Resident Evil 1 estate. Video game nerd alert!

"You like?" I wiggled my eyebrows. She nodded rather enthusiastically and turned to me once more.

"This place is amazing! Do you live here all by yourself?" she asked. I shook my head and ran my fingers through my dark hair. Before I got a chance to answer her question, a deep, sultry voice came from behind us. Winter jumped noticeably at the sudden audio intrusion and we both turned to see the Benign butler, decorated in a jet black uniform complete with a tailcoat, waistcoat, white button up and smooth trousers.

"How lovely it is to see you here after so long, Mr. Bratland."

"I could say the same to you, Sebastian." I smirked back at the standing butler. He offered a close eyed smile, then opened them and noticed Winter standing, hiding half her body behind me, eyes poking out cautiously to stare at the tall, red eyed man.

"You must be one of the new recruits, I take it?" She was busy examining this man and all he had to offer until she realized he asked her something, to which she nodded quickly, bright blue hair shaking along with her. He grinned down at her almost as if she were a small child, and her hold on my arm loosened a bit. Looks like the more shyer version of her is making a comeback. "Everyone is in the dining room, in case you're wondering sir."

"Thank you, Sebastian."

"Of course." he gave a small bow, then went off to do his own thing while I grabbed Winter's hand and took her to the apartment sized dining room. Once I creaked open the big double doors leading inside, I could already here the chit chat and bickering echoing all around us. Each one of the seats were taken, save for one, which was the one chair at the very end of the mahogany structure, the head of the table, if you will.

"Can it everyone! Arachnophobia is here!!"

The second my body settled itself in the chair, all went silent and everyone looked up at me respectfully, waiting for me to speak or give out any orders. I cleared my throat and was about to tell Winter to have a seat anywhere she'd like and make herself at home, but there wasn't any available. I exhaled inaudibly, scoot my chair outwards a bit, and put my hand on her waist, lightly pulling her into me and settling her comfortably on my leg. Her black backpack had been removed from her body and now was being clutched within her white knuckled hands while also resting on the alabaster tile floor.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce to you our newest Killjoy," I paused for a moment to see if she would be confident enough to say her name. When she remained wordless, I spoke up for her. "This is Winter Kirijo. And from this point on, she is one of our own and I expect for you to treat her as such...in fact, you'll give her the same treatment you give me, respect her in the same way, and if she gives you an order, you obey without question. Okay?"

"Who the hell is this little shrimp?"

"Did you just say Killjoy?" she whispered to me, exclusively.

"We've never even heard of her before, and we're supposed to see her as a second in command or some shit? I don't think so!"

"Guys-" I sighed.

"She's like, twelve."

"Not to mention fuckin' skinny as hell. Look at her, she's a damn twig!"

"Great, the last thing we need is a Eugenia Cooney on our hands."

"Okay, that was just insensitive, come on."

"It's true, look at her! Does she even know how to throw a punch, let alone shoot a gun? Can she even handle the enchanted weapons?"

"Has Demetri finally gone insane? Did he turn straight or something?"

"Okay, enough!" I slammed my flat hand against the table, effectively silencing anyone who was just talking trash about her and making judgments without any evidence to back them up whatsoever. I could see Winter's face growing red and hot from all the accusations coming her way, her head was tilted down as if she were ashamed of something. I have to say, I wasn't anticipating for them to have this kind of reaction, although in hindsight, I suppose I should have. She doesn't look like the kind of person that would be able to hold her own in a battle, especially against the Dracs. In fact, the only way you'd be able to tell she was a Hell Spawn was the color of her eyes. And maybe the dried blood still staining her clothes, face and various other sections of her body.

If only they had seen what she pulled less than an hour of our arrival, they wouldn't be saying all of these things then.

"Has nobody ever told you not to judge a book by its cover?" I scolded.

"Then what the fuck is a cover for?" one of them argued back, and I was rendered silent. I didn't have a come back for that line.

Before I could think of something to say back, Winter lifted herself from my lap and now had a much more confident looking posture and harsher eyes than before. I nearly gasped and let out an "ooooooh shit!" as it seemed things were about to get real.

She dropped her bag haphazardly on the floor and spread her arms out wide in front of her. I wondered if she was beckoning for someone to hug or something of the sorts, but...that didn't seem right.

"Fucking come at me." she said in a calm yet menacing and challenging voice. For a few moments, it seemed no one was going to take her up on that challenge, most likely because they thing that just a single shove will break her in half. We both waited patiently for someone to stand up and take her on, and for a second I thought we would be waiting all night long. That was until one of the taller Killjoys stood cautiously from his seat and walked slowly towards her, fists half raised yet still clearly afraid to lay a finger on her. She raised an eyebrow at him, beckoning him closer with her finger. He walked towards her a little faster until he was towering over her, then suddenly went to throw a punch down at her face. She channeled her inner murderer again, grabbed his wrist with little effort and kicked his ankle out from under him. He collapsed onto his knees and was now in a tight headlock in her arms. One small movement and she could snap his neck as easily as breaking a twig in half. She kept him in that same hold for what felt like forever as many of the Killjoys in front of me applauded like she had performed for them, some of them whistling and berating themselves for thinking she couldn't even throw a decent punch. I beamed proudly.

Without warning, her knee jutted out and got him right in the solar plexus. He groaned pitifully while his face gradually turned blew from her suffocating hold. She then mercilessly threw him back down onto the ground and looked back up at everyone who had watched it all go down. Her stare was blank yet highly intimidating, I imagine. I simply couldn't help but clap along myself, she certainly put them all in their place.

"Anyone else?" she tested. They all shook their heads like school children being yelled at by their teacher. It was rather amusing, I must say.

"But...how do we know you can actually be of use to us?" a Killjoy asked, but this time I could tell that being rude wasn't his intention. I wanted to open my mouth and speak, maybe order him not to question it, just accept that she is one of us, now. But Winter, still holding that blank facial expression, turned around, unzipped her backpack and began rummaging through it until it seemed she located what it is she needed. She stood up with her back turned to everyone, excluding me, and started placing something, a mask, over her head. Everyone else was very confused until she stilled, then turned back around to face them.

Over half of them gasped, appalled, amazed, shocked, flabbergasted, and terrified all at once. It was a little entertaining, seeing all of those different emotions flash across their faces in a matter of seconds.

No words needed to be said in order to understand the point she was trying to convey. One look at her and you knew it all.

She had turned around to reveal herself adorning a bright red respirator mask with that signature biohazard insignia painted on in black.

"No fucking way..."

" _Scapegrace_  is a Killjoy!?"

"And here we all thought she was a fucking mindless criminal with no motive other than psychotic fetishes!"

"Okay, you might wanna tone it down with the whole fetish talk, she's right there and she might impale you with her knee as well."

"Shit, u-uh...sorry!"

It was a little strange, seeing Scapegrace without her full attire. Usually she was dressed in all black, face painted and hood hiding most of her said face. Here, she was standing in her blood stained school uniform and let down electric blue hair, whereas she would usually use black hairspray on it when hunting for Dracs. But even with just the mask on, she was just as fucking terrifying.

She glared back down at all the rest of the Killjoys, mask still covering the bottom half of her face and eyes narrowed dangerously. In this moment specifically, I don't think Winter, sorry...I don't think Scapegrace needed the rest of her black clothing and unorthodox face paint in order to to possess the same aura she does when she is in possession of those things. Sometimes I don't know how to describe it, but...

There's something in the back of my mind that has me believing the white lies Winter tells me and tells herself about Scapegrace being a totally separate entity entirely. And entity that is not another side of her, not even a part of her. But rather, a  _possession_ , almost.

I mentally scoffed. Saying it like that makes it sound like a demon or something is inhabiting her body. I know that's not the case, and I know that no matter what she tells herself and no matter what she believes, Scapegrace is a part of her whether she likes it or not. But at the same time, a part of  _me_ wanted to avoid ever saying anything like that to her face. She gets upset enough whenever I mention something along the lines of her being Scapegrace. Every single time, she promptly corrects me and says that she isn't Scapegrace. At first it used to puzzle me, but now, I think I have a different take on it. 

Maybe it has to do with something...in the head. I don't want to jump to any conclusions and accuse her of being mentally ill, but it's a possibility. Even for a Hell Spawn like her, the way her mood and even her personalities shift so suddenly isn't normal. We all just witnessed it first hand, one second, she's this shy teenage girl who was too afraid to speak up when the rest of the Killjoys trash talk her right to her face. And then the next moment, she's about ready to snap a poor guys neck after she challenged him to 'come at her'.

She was an interesting one to say the least. I'll have to keep a closer eye on her than the rest, that's for sure.

After a few moments of just her scowling down at everyone at the dining room table, her eyes became less hardened and narrowed, and instead returned to that signature dull gaze they always seemed to be in even while slaughtering unsuspecting Dracs. Her shoulders  relaxed a considerable amount and she looked off to the side. Everyone watched in apprehension as she swiftly removed the mask from her face and heaved a sigh. It was quite clear that she was exhausted. Hell, I am too. We both endured a three and a half hour long, nonstop drive all the way here after getting up at five or six in the morning. She's probably going to want to doze off here pretty soon.

I might just join her.

"Why-why Killjoys?" she passively queries while also wiping off the imaginary sweat off her face and pinched her eyes shut. I was right, she is quite exhausted. Looking at her reminded me of my own fatigue and I could feel my eyelids growing more cumbersome as the moments pressed on. It's a wonder I've made it this far without passing out. Hell, even the freezing tile floor looked like a decent enough bed to sleep in.

"Excuse me?" the same Killjoy she had dominated asked for her to clarify just what she was asking.

"I mean the name, Killjoy. I've only known the two opposing sides as Benigns and Maligns. Is there like a...a story behind it or am I just dumb?"

"No, there's a story, well not a story exactly but..." the Killjoy started but I cut him off and spoke instead.

"Basically, I was in a very heated battle with my vermin of a brother, and in the heat of the moment he, called me a dull killjoy. And the name just kinda stuck I suppose. I know, it's super interesting." I shrugged once I was finished. Winter roughly placed Scape's mask down on the table and leaned on it for support. I stood up again, ready to catch if her if she fainted or something.

"You're right, that is super interesting...and Dracs?"

"Short for Dracula's. Dracula is a vampire, vampires feed off blood and misery...pretty self explanatory." the same Killjoy explained. Winter only nodded and rubbed her heavy eyes, effectively smudging a bit of her dark, winged liner. I snickered playfully under my breath, though she didn't seem to care.

"Well, I apologize for this very brief little meeting. But we're both pretty shot, so I'm afraid we're gonna have to retire early tonight if we want to get a head start for tomorrow."

After I was finished, I received a plethora of 'good evenings' and 'see you tomorrows'. To which I replied by smiling and waving at them, then led Winter back out from where we came, leaving the rest of the Killjoys in there to finish up whatever it was they were discussing prior to our arrival. They were probably arguing over who here had the weirdest bedroom kinks.

Christ...

"I think I'm gonna bleach my hair again."

My scattered thoughts came to a screeching halt when Winter suddenly piped up again as we were on our way up the main staircase that faced the front entrance. Intrigued, I asked her why that was, considering she just recently colored it blue from my understanding.

"Yeah, the blue was cool for a few days. But I don't really think it suits me as well as I thought it did. It's not bad looking, but...I look like a fucking anime main character."

"HAHAHA!" I burst into unwarranted laughter at that very last comment, tears already pricking at my eyes from the sheer hilarity. "Oh my fucking god, Sheba! You don't know how hysterical you can be sometimes-ahaHAHAHA!"

"You're such a fucking child, y'know that?" she shot at me. I shook my head and only agreed with her.

"You're not wrong on that one hun'!"

"Shut up."

After I recovered from my laugh attack, we finished ascending the rest of the main stairs and I started leading her to one of the much nicer guest rooms which wasn't really a guest room. It was actually another master bedroom very identical looking to how mine looked. I opened the door open for her, and waltzed inside with her to make sure everything was in its rightful place and there were no messes left behind while I explained that the shower in the bathroom was already stocked with an assortment of shampoos, conditioners, lotions, face creams and body washes. Basically, a white girls wet dream. I nearly pissed myself laughing again when she started stripping our of her filthy, blood stained uniform before entering the bath, and while I was still in the room.

"You really do have no shame, huh?" I teased. She hummed in agreement, and I think part of the reason why she was so quick to get naked without a second thought knowing fully well I could still see her was because 1) she knows neither of us are attracted to each other for obvious reasons and b) she is extremely fatigued. Just like I am. I swear, I'll fall asleep standing up.

I could hear her muttering something under her breath while she waltzed into the connected bathroom and started turning on the shower. I placed her black backpack neatly at the foot of her bed, catching a glimpse of a few of Scapegrace's signature daggers and some spare clothes for scenarios such as this.

I then fluffed each one of the pillows like the obsessive compulsive perfectionist that I am, making sure they were nice and soft. Ready to be slumbered upon.

"Hey Sheba, there are some fresh clothes laid out on your bed for when you get out!" I yelled to her through the running shower. I heard her yell out a "Thank you!" back. I nodded, despite that she couldn't see it.

"And tomorrow, we'll get your hair changed like you were talking about!"

"Okay!" she hollered back a simple reply. I left shortly after to return to my own quarters.


	40. Hot To The Touch, Cold On The Inside(But They're Not Taking Us Alive)

**Winter's POV**

I awoke earlier than I thought I would the next day in the  _Killjoy Estate_ with the large, dense black comforted wrapped tightly around my body like a tortilla on a burrito. Entangled locks of my neon blue hair were scattered all around my head and my eyes were crusted over with sleep. But despite this, I had a rather pleasant resurfacing from the world of dreams and back into reality. My skin and clothes were no longer caked over with filthy Drac blood, and I didn't smell like it either, which was nice.

That shower I had last night was probably the best I'd ever had. Demetri really wasn't lying when he said it was stocked with anything and everything. I felt like a spoiled whore while in there, trying ever single fancy lotion I came across and fumbling around with the many shower head settings. My hair came out looking and feeling softer than a baby's ass and my skin held the illusion of being flawless. This road trip wasn't that bad after all, and I got a nice break from being stuck in a cramped vehicle for hours on end, only being interrupted once by a group of rude enemies ambushing us out of nowhere.

I moaned and stretched out my body, little specks of bright sunlight poking through the dark red curtains. They contrasted well with the ivory tiles, I noticed. I was getting ready to plop my head back onto the pillow for another five minutes in order to get myself ready to get out of bed, when a soft  _tap tap tap_ came from the door and I propped myself up with one elbow and using my free hand to hold the blanket tight around my chest. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes before glancing back up at the door and calling out to whoever it was almost inaudibly.

"Um...com-come in....!"

The door slowly creaked open and the vaguely familiar servant from yesterday evening carefully stepped inside. It sounded like he was trying not to make his footsteps too loud, so as not to disturb the peaceful silence within the room. I wanted to comment on it, but then I just decided it wasn't really that relevant.

"Ms. Kirijo, Mr. Bratland has requested I bring you a fresh pair of clothes to change into, since your uniform had gotten a bit...messy yesterday." he spoke in that fine, smooth voice. I blinked a couple times and saw him gently laying a pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt over the chair in the corner. I thanked him with a scratchy voice. He merely bowed and left the room, leaving me to get ready on my own. After closing my eyes for another five minutes or so as I had originally intended to do, I finally dragged myself out of my tight, warm cocoon. I sauntered over to the pair of clothes that was brought to me, and snickered lowly to myself.

The black jeans looked like something that does belong to me, but the shirt I could easily recognize as Demetri's. I didn't pay it much thought and slipped it over my head, not caring, and then buttoning the black denim jeans on over my hips.

I pulled my very light, unnaturally colored hair up into a rather sloppy ponytail, and lastly a pair of crazy colored, mismatched socks so my feet didn't get frostbite from these cold ass tile floors.

I didn't bother with make up or anything like that today, since I figured I won't be going anywhere where it would be needed. I ran my hands tiredly down my face, mentally preparing myself for what was undoubtedly going to be a very taxing day. Hopefully they keep some form of caffeine in this massive manor.

I can get through pretty much anything if I have caffeine in my system.

As I made my way down the extensive, Resident Evil-esque hallways I could occasional pick up the sounds of distant and muffled chit chat from all the other residents here. There were a couple hanging out on the balcony's, along the edge of the stairs and in each others rooms. I got a few respectful nods and other times, they would greet me as their superior, just as Demetri had ordered. I had to admit, it felt a little weird walking around here like I was the Corporal Levi from  _Shingeki No Kyojin_. And the way I would simply smile and wave back at them  seemed to throw them as well, when last night I was about ready to murder one of them. I wouldn't actually do something like that, of course. But just knowing that I had the ability to do so with just the flick of a wrist put everybody on edge, and for good reason. Hell, it even scared me a little bit. Sometimes I feel like I can't control when Scapegrace comes out.

Another few moments of aimless walking, rubbing my eyes and absentmindedly greeting other Killjoys, I made it downstairs and back into the dining room where a team of maids and butlers were busy tidying the place up. Inside my head, I wondered if hosting meetings was the only purpose for the dining room, seeing as how Hell Spawns can survive perfectly without the consumption of human food. Sometimes we need to feed  _on_  humans in order to stay in the top condition we were born in.

I giggled slightly to myself at the thought of servants serving us various cocktails and sauces made with the blood of humans, kind of like in this one particular scene in  _Tru Blood_.

Man, I'm making so many television show comparisons today.

In all seriousness, I sincerely hope they don't do anything like that with human organs, flesh or vital fluid. Not only is that corny and dorky, but it's also unfathomably demented and fucked up, even for me.

And I fucking kill people.

Well, Drac people.

But still, people.

"Oh hey, there you are!" Demetri called from behind, emerging from the monstrous double doors in his usual jeans and blank t-shirt, similar to what I was adorning. I could see him smirk at our seemingly coordinated outfits, and I rolled my eyes at him. Of course, he would do something like this. He wouldn't be Demetri if he didn't.

"I got bored after the butler left, so I've just been kinda walking around aimlessly. I hope that's alright." I said, my voice still a bit raspy from lack of proper use.

"You don't need to ask my permission, this house is yours as much as it is mine, and the servants and the other Killjoys."

"How generous." I teased lightly. He nudged my shoulder with his, giving me a knowing grin. I returned the same expression, and then I waited for what he wanted to come looking for me for. There had to be something, we didn't just decide to vacation at this manor for shits and giggles. After all, he did make quite a fuss about how once we leave this place, things will never be the same ever again. And I was still coping with that fact and trying to get it processed in my brain; my normal life will be non existent. But sometimes, I find it's best to just not think about certain things.

You're brain will become a living hell if you do.

"So what's on the agenda for today,  _Arachnophobia_?"

He chuckled lightly at my use of his alternate alias.

"Well first, since we've got a little bit of downtime, I figured we'd get your hair done as well as mine. I need a bit of a trim, as well so we'll be killing two birds with one stone." he paused, and I nodded. "Then we'll all meet back here at the table, fill you in on our current objectives and discuss plans for the near future."

Though he said it so casually as if it were nothing, I had a nagging feeling that these  _plans_ he spoke of were not just any plans. They would inevitably either be the uprising or the downfall of the civilization as we know it. 

I tried acting just as casually about this heavy topic as he did and replied with a simple "Okay," before he brought me back to his room where his bathroom counter was cluttered with all types of different hair products, bleach, toners, and conditioners. By the time we were finished without little hair makeovers, his dark locks were a couple inches shorter, shaggy and wet. While my hair had been completely stripped of the vibrant blue shade, and instead replaced with a blinding, bright white color. Examining myself in the mirror, I slightly admired my reflection. My new hair color complimented my crimson eyes quite well, and made my skin seem much paler, too. But it also made the permanent dark circles under my eyes pop out a bit more, but that fine by me.

Since I've bleached it so many times, naturally I ended up with split ends, and Demetri was kind enough to snip a few inches (a lot of inches) off to take care of that. Now my hair was much shorter, hanging about an inch and a half over my shoulders. I could no longer pull it up into my favorite bun, or my absolute favorite twin buns. But at the same time, I didn't allow for him to cut my hair because it was stylish, but because it would be a lot easier to maintain when in combat. It wouldn't seem very practical to have to constantly brush my bangs off to the side while I'm trying to shoot someone.

We finished our new hair within the hour and went back to the dining area where a collection of various beverages had been set out, presumably by The Help, and more seats added so that this time around, we all had a place to sit. I wouldn't have to perch myself atop my gay friend's lap.

Not everyone was quite here yet, no more than six or seven people. But gradually, they came filing in and choosing random seats to occupy. I was settled in a chair right next to Demetri's at the head of the table, like we were the king and queen. I'm sure that was what he intended.

Once everyone was settled in and the whole table was full, the maids and butlers standing alone the perimeter of the dining table, Demetri clapped his hands loudly just once to get their attention. While I listened to the gradual decline of the many conversations going on, I stared down at my glass of red wine and imagined it to be the blood of my worst enemy.

"Alright, now that we're all in one place, we'll let Ms. Kirijo in on what's been going on so far, and she'll contribute to the decisions on what we'll do in the near future. Before we get to that, I'll take the liberty of getting her up to speed." he paused to clear his throat and waited patiently for him to get on with it.

"As I'm sure you've gathered by now, this army has been in existence for quite some time; about a year and a half to be exact. Although, I would say I was the one who started it, it was really Scapegrace."

I cocked my head to the side. "How is that?"

"If it weren't for Scape taking a stand against what we now call the Dracs, we would have never gained the courage to do so ourselves. So in all actuality, Scapegrace was the Catalyst who set off a chain reaction of dozens of dedicated Killjoys...the fact that she's now joined our little rebellion means a great deal to all of us....Jet, would you do the honors?"

I turned my unblinking eyes away from Demetri and instead landed them upon a taller male Killjoy with abnormally fluffy, curly hair. He scooted his seat back away from the table in order to distinguish himself from everyone else and spoke up with a confident, fluctuating voice.

"We've recently come to find that the Dracs are planning an ambush on New York City within the next month. And if we know them as well as we think we do, chances are it will be within the next two weeks. We already have a group of Killjoys stationed there, patrolling the city and keeping an eye out. It seemed to be working rather effectively for a while, but then the number of Dracs inhabiting the city have increased exponentially. By now it's getting more strenuous to combat, and with this recent news...

"Tomorrow we'll leave for New York and see to it that this ambush does not happen. We'll fight to make sure the humans remained unharmed and society carries on just as it has been for centuries. If we let this attack on NYC go down, it will be the starting point of a worldwide chain reaction. First, it will be New York, then Philadelphia, New Jersey, and so on so forth until the whole country is under Drac control. And once the United States are dominated, the same events will play out once more until the whole world is changed, and not for the better."

Once this man apparently called Jet finished his long winded speech, I nervously sipped from my wine glass, not sure what else to do or say.

"How-How are we supposed to go up against The King and all his Dracs? Based off of what you've just said, we're severely outnumbered and not to mention practically defenseless. We may be strong willed and passionate about this revolution to overthrow the King, but we should ask ourselves this question. Are we strong enough to even compete against Damian?"

"We can't afford to think like that, Ms. Kirijo." Jet replied. "If we plant the idea in our heads that we'll never amount to their strength, then we'll start to believe that and therefore, our abilities will suffer as a result."

"Believe me, sir, I'm not trying to diminish this armies capabilities. I'm simply being realistic. You say the number of Dracs have increased exponentially but the Killjoys haven't. As far as we all know, those numbers fluctuation do not vary. And the Killjoys we don't know about, have no idea of the battle that's to take place. So how are they of any use to us? And further more, how are we supposed to recruit that many of them in so little time?"

I finished with a cryptic stare and after a while of awkward, tense silence, I sipped from my wine again and waited for someone to pipe in again and hopefully debunk everything I've just pointed out. As contradictory as it may be, I didn't like what I was saying anymore than anyone else in this room. I was mentally praying for someone to speak up and tell me that everything will be just fine, that the Killjoys will defeat the Dracs despite all of these flaws and holes in the plan. But then rationality told me that wasn't going to happen.

"Well you may be right, Ms. Kirijo...except for one thing." said Jet. I perked up a bit, though not by much.

"What's that?"

Jet shifted his gaze back and forth from Demetri, to the Killjoys, and back to me all the while a knowing little simper morphed onto his lips. I started to feel a little uneasy, but also excited to find out just what he had in that brain of his.

"May I?" he asked Demetri. Demetri nodded.

"Of course, in fact I'll come with you." he responded before standing and beckoning for me to do the same. I complied and followed these two men out of the dining room. As soon as we left I could hear the mindless conversations start back up again, but I paid those no mind.

Jet and  _Arachnophobia_ took me all the way to the massive, easily over a hundred acre sized backyard and off to the side where it looked like the doors to a cellar were. I gulped back a fearful gasp and watched, intrigued and scared, as Demetri entered in a four digit pass code and the metallic doors slowly creaked open and wide, ready for us to enter it. They both gave me expectant, amused looked.

"Ladies first." Jet said. I hesitated for a second, briefly arguing with myself over whether or not I just listen to them. But in the end, I ended up giving in and I did as they told me to. They followed in after my footsteps, thankfully leaving the doors open, so I could still see the light spilling around my feet. This lessened the tension slightly, and I felt less claustrophobic even when the light was no longer visible.

For a moment, the halls we tread through were pitch black, I wasn't able to see my hand in front of my face. But as if on cue, a light flickered on and suddenly, the whole place was brightly illuminated.

Just a few feet in front of us stood another set of large, industrial metallic doors with, once again, a glowing neon green key pad to punch in the code with. On the wall hung next to it was a typewritten memo with very Shakespearean words and phrases, so I knew it was probably similar to the one outside the manor's entrance. Do they have Shakespeare riddles for everything in this house?

Demetri tapped in the code, and the doors slid open to reveal a darkened room I couldn't see into. This time, the boys entered first, motioning for me to follow, and so I did. As soon as we were all inside, a system of industrial, blue tinted lights came on, allowing for us to see what was inside. And the second I did, I nearly passed out from combination of befuddlement, astonishment, and elation.

Before us was a cellar about the size of my entire apartment, filled with a masters collection of every single melee and firearm you could ever imagine. They had it all.

They had it  _all._

And they weren't just any weapons, either. No, this wasn't a fucking gun shop. All of these weapons of mass destruction were transparent with blue and pink reflections from the light. That told me these were  _enchanted_  fucking weapons just like the ones Demetri showed me.

My head felt so foggy all of a sudden, and I wanted to run up to these things like I was child in a toy store! I wanted to touch and gawk at them and use every single one of them! I wanted to feel  _indestructible_!

"Oh my god, YES!"


	41. Emergency

**Winter's POV**

Today was the day that the Killjoys would all band together and leave Westchester in pursuit of the Dracs attempting to take over New York first before conquering everywhere else. It wasn't just Demetri and I getting back into the car and leaving, no. We would all be leaving, and none of us knew whether we'd ever come back. It was comparable to that of a soldier leaving his family to go fight in a war in which he may end up being shot, or blown up to bits and pieces. We all had the same anxiety levels as a soldier in that situation, but most of us were good at masking it with a stone cold facade.

I tried to get some sleep last night in preparation for the grueling days or weeks to come, but no matter how hard I tried to turn my mind off, I couldn't ever let myself fall asleep. I dozed off every couple of minutes, but never for very long. Every time it seemed like sleep would wrap its arms around me and never let me go, images of my friends and family would flash through my mind. Everything from Brandon's chipper face to Naomi's bloodied corpse. And all it did was remind me of what I will possibly lose very soon. My heart sank every time I thought too much about it; about the fact that I have basically signed my life away. I can never be a normal teenage girl again, I might never get to chase my dream of being a musician, a writer, a journalist, or just someone that inspires people to do what they love.

Instead, I get to carry a gun and slaughter thousands of miscreants who dare try and fuck up the balance of this world. I get to go and watch many of my comrades be tortured and killed by the Dracs. I get to know that all of my loved ones may die soon. But at the end of the day, I can not fault anyone but myself, because  _I_  chose this new life.  _I_  am the one to ultimately blame for my sadness.

But I took a deep breath and pushed all of those feelings inside back into a small box. A box I never intend to open back up for as long as I can. Because to open up that box would be detrimental to my performance as, essentially, a soldier.

I was currently assisting all the rest of the residents of the Killjoy Estate in loading up all of their weapons and other supplies into these giant military vehicles that I didn't even know they had. I made sure everyone had exactly what they needed before we would leave in the next few minutes, and that everyone was at least mildly prepared for the hell and high waters to inevitably attack us in more forms than one. For the most past, everyone I spoke to agreed they were very afraid, very very afraid. But just like I did, they shoved those feelings somewhere in a dark corner of their mind, hopefully never to resurface. You can't afford to lose your cool, especially now of all times.

Standing at the foot of the bed I've been staying on, my backpack was open and I stared solemnly inside at the red respirator mask sitting on top of everything else I'd brought with me. Despite the fact that the mask was only made to cover half of your face, it still seemed to somehow stare back at me with an intense, burning gaze. My stomach clenched at the thought of putting this thing back on and turning into that heartless, silent monster again. I know Scapegrace has the best intentions at the end of the day. She's never once taken human lives. I have, but she hasn't. But that still doesn't change the fact that she's traumatized many of them. Throwing body parts and slabs of bloody skin at  _children_  even. Nobody can deny that she doesn't care who she hurts along the way of killing what are apparently now called Dracs.

After a while of just standing there in numbing silence, I decided enough was enough. So I zipped up my bag, slung it over my shoulders and marched on through the hallways and foyers until I was back outside in the chilly weather. There were still many other Killjoys around, packing up and readying themselves for the ultimate war. Some of them nodded at me in passing and I nodded back at them. I was on my way back to Demetri's dark vehicle while all of this was going on, occasionally greeting other residents in the process.

I have to say, I'm quite surprised that they're already treating me as their superior despite the negative backlash I received from many of them days before. I didn't know if it was because they see me as Scapegrace even without the mask, or if they're simply following their leaders orders. Either way, I guess I can't really complain but at the same time, it was still a little mind boggling. I'm seventeen years old, nobody should be getting on their knees and kissing my feet.

I spotted Demetri's car a few meters ahead, much smaller in size compared to all of these hardcore industrial death machines surrounding the premises. Sighing, I sped up my pace, knowing he was sat in the front seat waiting for me. I could distinctly hear another pair of feet following after my trail, and I turned around calmly when I heard someone call out my name.

I turned around to see a familiar Killjoy, who I only knew as Jet. Big mop of brunet curls upon his head and a high, sweet voice.

"Jet," I greeted him back. He chuckled for some reason I didn't quite understand and stepped closer to me.

"Everyone here for the most part only knows me as Jet Star, but I'm fine with just Ray."

"That's your real name?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

We stood in silence for a few short moments, contemplating what to say next. I didn't know much about this man, Ray. But I had a strong feeling in my gut that despite the fact that we don't know each other well, we'll be great together in terms of combat, friendship, and loyalty.

I think I like Jet, or Ray, a lot more than all the other Killjoys I've met thus far, save for Demetri or Arachnophobia. It wasn't that he was particularly special or really all that interesting, other than that large mop of messy curls nesting on his scalp. I liked him, not because of his looks or any extraordinary character traits, but because he spoke to me like I was just a regular person. As much as it can sometimes, admittedly boost my ego to have people bowing down to me, calling me mistress, and obeying my every command--at the end of the day, I feel much better when I'm not treated like everyone's superior. And the only reason it's like this is because it is Demetri's command. I'm sure if he hadn't told everyone to treat me like a fucking queen, they'd all glare at me and spit in my eye because I'm just a twig little teen girl who happened to be born into the wrong race.

I've thought about asking him to reverse his command, telling everyone to treat me like how they would if it weren't there, but every time I go up and speak to him about it, we always get sidetracked and I end up completely forgetting all about what I came to talk to him about. Stuff like that happens a lot between the two of us, even when we're practicing combat with each other. It can be hysterical just as much as it can be annoying to no end.

"Before we leave," Ray started, breaking the tense silence in the air. "How's your neck doing?"

I blinked in confusion for a moment, not understanding why he would be worried about my neck of all things, but then I realized what he was referring to.

A day prior to us planning to leave, Demetri was explaining how everyone hear has The Spider somewhere on their bodies, whether it's a necklace, a ring or a piece of clothing. He said everyone has one in order to signify that they are in fact a Killjoy. That way, we can always distinguish us from the Dracs. He asked me what article of clothing or jewelry I preferred.

"None." I told him. For a moment then, he thought I was somehow betraying the army. But before he could speak those thoughts I had quickly said, "I want something more permanent."

That's how I ended up with The Spider getting tattooed along the side of my neck. It was the size of the palm of my hand, and rested just below where my ear was. It was quite visible, even when my hair was down, now that it wasn't as long as my waist anymore. I figured since I'm going to be in action a lot, having to deal with these long ass locks of white hair would be really inconvenient, I cut it. My bangs remained untouched, but now my hair length was a few centimeters past my chin.

I wonder how Gerard would react if he ever saw just how much I've changed.

"It's fine, stings a bit but...I'm glad I did it." I replied to Ray.

He gave a small grin at my response and I returned the friendly gesture.

"We all are. We're relieved to know you're really dedicated to this."

"A ring or a necklace just wouldn't fit for me." I continued after a brief pause. "Y'know? Could always get broken or lost during combat."

"That's why I did the same." he said, before rolling up his leather jacket sleeve, showing me the tattoo on his wrist of the same spider.

"Thank you for doing that for me."

"It was my pleasure," he smiled and gave a little playful bow. I rolled my eyes and pretended to brush him off. "Although I have to say, your voice gets super high pitched and shrill."

"Ray!"

"What!? It's true! I felt like I was tattooing a chipmunk!"

"RAY!"

"WHAT!?"

"Guys, no chick fights before we leave!" A Killjoy shouted at us from a distance. We both rolled our eyes simultaneously and crossed our arms.

Things quieted down for a minute, I glanced up from the dark pavement to see his ever slightly hardening features. The reality of everything came crashing back down onto our shoulders and I suddenly remembered that we're all probably gonna die soon. That we're all already meant for the flies.

I shook my head in an attempt to clear my head of these morbid thoughts but in the end, I knew they'd just come back to taunt me at the worst of times. Oh well. I'll do what I've been doing for the past several weeks, the same thing that everyone else here has been doing.

Just don't think about it.

"Well, I think we're all about loaded up and ready to go." Demetri addressed us both as he casually strolled up to us, hands buring in his jean pockets. He had a couple of holsters on his legs containing a few daggers, and one on his hip where an E. Pistol was kept. "Everyone's saying we're almost ready to go...what about you two?" he almost seemed nervous, which was a bit out of character for him, yet understandable. I mean, who in the hell wouldn't be at this time?

Nobody is immune to the sickness known as fear.

With a heavy sigh, I slumped my shoulders and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Likewise." Jet chimed in. Demetri gave us both knowing, understanding and pitiful looks. It almost seemed like he was apologizing to us telepathically. I've already had that conversation with him a while ago. This is our choice. We chose to fight. He had nothing to be sorry for, he is merely doing his best to keep his brother from fucking up this society more than it already is.

I turned to Ray and went in for a goodbye hug, to which he instantly returned the embrace. His arms rested along my upper back while mine were around his waist. When he pulled away, we bowed playfully toward each other and bid one another a good luck. He then returned back to his designated vehicle, and I was left alone with Arachnophobia.

"Shall we, Sheba?" he held out his hand for me to take

"We shall, Spiegel." I nodded matter-of-factly and took his hand. We started marching all the way back to his car, which served as the leader of the pack so to speak, when another Killjoy came sprinting up to us with panicked movements. He roughly grabbed Demetri by the shoulders, on the verge of tears.

"SIR! We've just received word that the attack on New York has already begun!"

"WHAT!?" We both shrieked.

My stomach dropped and I suddenly wanted to curl up into a fetal position and cry.

It's already begun. We don't have any time left. Our life is over.

"The Killjoy's stationed there are already on it, but soon they won't be enough!"

"We leave immediately. No wasting time!" Demetri shouted, before we hopped into his car, starting up the engine and promptly speeding down the pathway leading away from the Killjoy manor. All of the other cars followed suit on our tail, all of us going at least 200 miles per hour. The bright green trees and pale blue sky were nothing but a blurred haze, a mockery of their original shape as we went. My face felt hot, my hands clammy and trembling. I did my best to make it seem like I wasn't fazed at all by this sudden news, that I really had been prepared for this. But I knew it was quite the opposite. I wasn't ready, I wasn't ready at all. I wanted to go back home, I wanted my Okaasan to hold me tight and sing me songs, I want Gerard to snuggle into me, stroke my hair and kiss me until my tears are gone. I want to be back with Brandon, him lifting me up while he skateboard down the school halls and the streets of NYC. I don't wanna do this I don't wanna do this I don't wanna do this--

I don't wanna kill people, I don't wanna be a soldier, I don't wanna fight in this war! I just wanna go home and be safe again! I want mommy to hold me like she used to! I want Naomi back! I want my life back!

.....

But...it's too late now. There is no going back.


	42. God Save The Queen

**Gerard's POV**

Still no sign of Winter, and we've all grown more anxious as the weeks flew by. The cops have been involved for a while now, asking around, interrogating everyone who is associated with her, including myself. Of course, they didn't go to Frank or Mikey, since nobody knows they are good friends with her. But they have probably been doing a much better job in searching for her than the police ever could. The amount of times I've almost punched the wall or chucked an anime figurine across the room can't even be counted on my fingers anymore, because it's like the authorities aren't even trying. At times, I've even gotten irritated with the boys, but of course I always quickly realized that they're actually doing their best, and I have no right to be upset with them.

None of us have been able to sleep very much, Mikey and I especially. Some of my students started to notice how lazy my teaching has been, and how exhausted I've seemed. My eyes are constantly being weighed down by heavy, dark purple bags and my body movements are often sluggish. Today was no exception as I tiredly explained to my students about the next assignment before this weekend started. I'm pretty sure they were all aware of my lack of interest in this subject at the moment. I was too busy thinking about the boys and if they've made any sort of progress today. If they've maybe come across clues they've missed before. I wish I could be there to help out in this desperate search, but I did have a job, and I couldn't very well just call in sick every single day. But I did leave as soon as possible at the end of my shifts in order to help out.

I was nearing the end of my seemingly long winded explanation, everyone in the room barely paying any attention to my words, when a loud beep could be heard over the academy's intercom. I stopped in the middle of my sentence and glanced up at the speakers along the ceiling as did most of the other students. We waited for a long moment for a voice to come protruding out of said speakers, in fact we thought maybe there wasn't going to be one at all and the loud beep was just by accident. I was about to continue speaking, rubbing my sleep crusted eyes and sighing when I was cut off once again. This time, by a voice in the speakers. Fucking finally.

"Teachers, at this time, please bring your students down to the main gymnasium. Teachers at this time, please bring your students down to the main gymnasium. We have an impromptu assembly. Thank you." the dull voice instructed, sounding bored with life. The room broke out into various whispers and murmurs, many of the kids groaned and complained about having to walk all the way down the endless lego building staircase, and about how they should have warned us about this impromptu assembly much earlier. I joined along with one of the many frustrated groans and grabbed my coat from my desk.

"Alright guys, lets go. Stay together please." I commanded. They all rose from their seats and ambled on out the door as I held it open for them. I could tell most of them were just as irritated with this sudden announcement as I was. I was about ready to just let them go off on their own and let them do whatever the hell they wanted, because the only thing on my mind was getting some shut eye. But at the same time, I knew I couldn't allow myself to really fall asleep until I had my girlfriend back. I've crashed a couple times, but never for longer than an hour or so, because I'd always snap myself back awake with a gasp. My body physically could not fall asleep until my mind knew she was safe.

Just as the last student exited the door, I stepped out into the hall as well, shutting it, my ears were quite suddenly bombarded with a chorus of alarmed, terrified screams. I grimaced at the unanticipated, unwelcoming noise and sauntered forward in order to see what all the fucking commotion was about. I squeezed past scared, trembling teens until I got towards the end of the hall where the wall of kids had ended. And I was just what had them shitting their pants.

My stomach dropped to my feet, my body went rigid and I swear, my heart was throbbing maniacally in my ears.

There stood none other than Scapegrace in all her shameless, stoic glory. She stood scarily still at the top of the staircase, facing all of us--no, glaring daggers at all of us. She was clad in black boot cut jeans, elevated combat boots, a long black duster coat that easily went past her knees and of course, mask and face paint. But she wasn't unarmed.

Within her arms was a dark gray auto shotgun. Her finger rested gingerly on the trigger, like she was ready to mindlessly pull it and kill us all. That in addition to her blood red eyes and colorless, paper white hair made things so much more menacing. The atmosphere dropped instantly when she was around, and I instinctively raised both my arms as if they would do anything in protecting the kids behind me.

She stomped over towards me, boots clacking against the tile floors and narrowing her demonic slits even more. I started backing away, bumping into a few teens in the process. Most of them shrieked at this, but the shrieks grew even louder when she cocked the gun, pointing it right at my head. I swallowed thickly, mentally preparing myself for the inevitable explosion of my head once she did decide to pull that trigger.

"Do what you want with me but leave these kids alone." my voice trembled with fear. For a moment, she didn't respond to me. Instead, her gaze averted back to the students and shoved my to the side with the tip of the gun. They started backing away, screaming and crying and begging for her to let them live. She seemed absolutely unfazed by all of their pleading and instead of saying anything to them, she nudges her head towards the direction near the back. For a brief second in time, fear was replaced with confusion and no one understood what she was telling them what to do. After a few moments, a heard a low growl come from her chest and I was willing to bet her eyes narrowed even more. I gulped before speaking up with a much more confident voice. But it was fake, I was only trying to stay calm so they all would, too.

"Classrooms...Get back in the classrooms!"

Scapegrace's growl disappeared when I said this and they obeyed immediately, scrambling back into the rooms and slamming the doors shut behind them. Many of the other teachers followed suit, and I wanted to do the same but I had a feeling she pulled me to the side for a reason. I wasn't about to go and get myself blasted by pissing her off even more. She had a fucking gun for christs sake! A SHOTGUN! If it was just a regular old pistol, I probably wouldn't be as terrified as I am now, but something like a damn shotgun could kill even a Hell Spawn like me if shot at the right place. If she decided to go for my head, I would certainly not survive.

Once the halls cleared, Scapegrace turned around on her heels to scowl at me. She pointed the firearm point blank at my face and walked closer, as if examining me. She made straight eye contact with me, porcelain white skin and splotches of black paint making her face almost distorted and alien. Her face paint was different this time. It looked like it was melting, and there was fresh blood to accompany it. It dripped creepily down her face, even staining her pale white hands clutching the gun. Something told me she got into a bit of a scuffle before coming here and holding us all at gunpoint. It brought me back to when I was just a wee tiny teen boy, and a mugger had me on my knees execution style while he held a pistol right at my face. That was what had me weak in the knees, ready to submit and start crying and begging for her to leave me alone.

Sensing my apprehension and terror, she lowered the gun slightly, still staring me in the eyes. Her head was cocked to the side, gazing curiously like a predator stalking its prey. She was a lion and I felt like a helpless little lamb for the first time in such a long, long time. Needless to say, I didn't like this feeling one bit. I hate not being in control of a situation, and slowly, I felt my anger bubbling, stirring within me. My fear was slowly dissolving into nothing and I returned her scrutinizing glare.

"How fucking dare you..." I challenged, stepping even closer to her despite my subconscious screaming at me to back the fuck up.

_You're gonna get yourself shot you fucking idiot!_

In reply to my sudden burst of fury, she lifted the gun again, aiming for my forehead.

"How fucking dare you!" I repeated, louder this time. I stopped, staring her at eye level, my face now pressed into the barrel. I wasn't scared of this fucking monstrous cunt anymore! "You...YOU FUCKING KILLED HER DIDN'T YOU!" I screeched right into her face, my breath blowing wisps of her snow white hair away from her eyes. She must know what I'm talking about. How could she not? Everyone's been aware of her disappearance and the only explanation I could think of for it was her. It's her. It HAS to be her. It made the most sense in my mind.

I low, feline hiss escaped her mask; she was warning for me to back off. She was warning me to pipe down. But I did not heed those warnings. Instead, I directly disobeyed her silent commands, grabbing the barrel of the gun and yanking it out of her vice tight grip. I wasn't even thinking straight when I threw it behind me, the sound of the metal clattering, and skidding to a stop down the hall.

I was absolutely unafraid now, and this seemed to take her by surprise. Hey eyes widened to the size of saucers, and she took a few steps back, as if I was the enemy here. As if I was the predator. I much preferred it this way. I'll fucking show her that I am not a victim...!

My hands instinctively went right for her neck and surprisingly enough, they made it. I squeezed both of my hands as tightly as I could, cutting off her air. I could feel the bottom of her mask as I did so, and I contemplated just ripping it off to see what the rest of her stupid fucking face looked like. But I was just so caught up in strangling her, I didn't bother with it.

I faintly heard a squeak come from her mouth and I smirked evilly down at her, my razor sharp canines making their presence known. Bet she wasn't expecting for me to be a Hell Spawn like her! I almost laughed at this.

I kicked at her legs, making her collapse to the floor. The back of her skull smacked down onto the tiles, hard enough to break the skin. I almost got off to the idea of making this cunt bleed and suffer!

My hands tightened even more as I straddled her stomach. She may have been strong and utterly terrifying, but I was still a lot larger than her when it came to body weight. And if she didn't wear those dumb platform boots all the time, I'm sure I'd be a lot taller, too. With them on we were about the same height.

"Die..die, die, die, die, die, DIE, DIE, DIE!" I continuously screamed down into her face, never letting go of her throat, I swear I was practically crushing it wit my strength and I loved every second of it! But of course, this heaven couldn't last forever. Her hand came up, sharp nails like claws that scratched down my face, nicking my eye in the process. "OW, FUCK!"

She then kicked at the bottom of my chin, knocking me backwards, this time my skull smacking into the hard tile floors. Her boots pounded against the tiles as she rose to her feet, looming over me with evil intent gleaming in those vicious eyes of hers. Her platform boot heel came down harshly onto my chest, stomping down on it a few times, I heard a crack or two come from my collar bone. I grabbed angrily at her ankle and attempted to throw her away from me, but her boot came back up to stomp on my face. I could feet the blood gathering in my nostrils, my nose stinging and burning. It was akin to that feelings you get when you get chlorine in your nose in the swimming pool.

When I thought she would stomp down mercilessly on me again, she lifted her foot off of me and instead grabbed my collar, forcing me to stand. My legs wobbled a bit, and I was surprised by how strong she was. If I didn't know any better I'd say her strength rivaled mine, but not quite.

She slammed me against the wall, turning me around and rubbing my face into it. Blood trickled down my face, dripping onto my good white dress shirt. I groaned in her grip and tried backwards headbutting her, but in the middle of doing so, I felt her head butt me right back, smacking my nose back into the hard surface before me.

"G--AH!"

She hissed in my ear and threw me mercilessly into the ground. I expected for her to come at me, attack me again. I was actually hoping she would, I wanted a real fight! I wanted to make her fucking bleed for all the shit she's caused in the past six months! She thinks she can just ruin so many peoples lives, slaughter all these innocent students, and get away with it? I don't fucking think so...

I hopped to my feet, fists clenched, knuckles pasty white. I screamed at her, sharp teeth protruding out and spittle flying everywhere. I was red in the face, eyes definitely crazed looking. I know I looked deranged, but there's only so much a person like me can handle before they fucking lose it. And I...oh, I have definitely lost it.

"FUCKING FIGHT ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" I demanded for her to come back as she casually started going back towards the firearm I threw behind me. Just as she was crouching down to retrieve it, I sprinted up to her and tackled her from behind. Her legs gave out from under her, and I straddled her back, balling fist fulls of her hair into my hands and wrenching her head back towards me, attempting to break her fucking neck. She grasped desperately at the shotgun and swung it backwards, nailing me in the face with it. She stood up, knocking be back onto my ass. She tried swinging it again to hit me, but I barrel rolled out of the way and swiftly landed back onto my feet.

I squinted dangerously at her, growling like a wild beast. I was waiting, hoping that she'd charge at me. But much to my disappointment, she didn't. Instead, she gave me one last bored glance before turning on her heel and walking away. I roared at her and tackled her again for the second or third time. I couldn't remember. She fell back down, accidentally pulling the trigger in the process. The bullet luckily enough didn't hit either of us but instead shot out like a rocket to the other side of the hall. It impaled a hole near one of the classroom doors and I could hear dozens of people screaming from behind closed doors. She effortlessly rolled out from underneath me, still holding the shotgun and whipping me across the face with it. My neck craned to the side, half of my face throbbed awfully, but it only fueled my fire, despite that I went cashing to the ground. For a moment, I just laid there, motionless, vision fading in and out for a moment. When I finally came back to my senses, I rolled over and saw her gazing down at me. But there was something different about the look in her eyes.

It wasn't animalistic anymore. It didn't seem like she wanted to fight me. Now that I think about it, she never seemed like she wanted to fight me. She wasn't out for blood. I got the feeling that her bringing that shotgun with her was more of a scare tactic more than anything...like she wanted to scare us into submission...like she didn't really want to hurt anymore. At least not seriously. But I can't say I return those same motives. She's wreaked havoc on this city for so long, just because she seems non-hostile now doesn't mean she still won't fuck everything up in the future. And besides, if my suspicions are accurate, she's responsible for the disappearance of my sweet Winter...and for that I can not forgive her. I will be the villain if I have to. I will fucking end Scapegrace once and for all.

"I'll fucking kill you...!" I almost whimpered, feeling pathetic. Tears, red tears, brimmed at my eyes. They were tears of anger and sadness and frustration all at once. I wanted to wring her neck out, I wanted to tear all the limbs from their sockets, gouge her fucking eyes out, anything to make her suffer.

After a few moments of sputtering senseless insults and threats toward her, I finally got back up, hands shaking uncontrollably and swinging almost lazily at her face. She ducked, avoiding my fist and slowly walking backwards. I kept doing this, trying to get at her when I finally managed to snatch the shotgun out of her hand. It had been pointing down this whole time, she didn't bother trying to shoot me with it. I don't know if it was because she was bored, if my attempts at fighting her weren't worth it or if she was somehow antagonizing me.

But it didn't matter, because now it was in my hands. I saw her eyes widen slightly, but now by much. She wasn't even trying to defend herself against me anymore, like she had lost complete interest in me and fighting me. This only egged me on further, I was tired, so tired. So fucking exhausted but I wanted to hurt her! I need to somehow alleviate the pain she's caused me, and I know I'm not the only one. She's caused so much pain to so many people. She needs to be eradicated for good.

With this planted in my head, her still walking backwards, I lifted the firearm with one hand and did she same thing she did to me seconds before. It skidded across her face. She was knocked onto her hands and knees, and I could see her mask go flying backward. She quickly scrambled to catch it. She caught it with her hands and with her back turned to me she swiftly slid it back onto her face. I couldn't see her face, but I didn't need to.

The second she turned back around to face me, I raised the gun again. But this time, I didn't want to slap her with it. I wanted to do something else...

My finger laid upon the trigger, and for a second I was arguing with myself in my head about whether or not I really wanted to pull the trigger. But before I could make any real, smart decisions, I went ahead and just did it. Unfortunately, my aim wasn't all that good, and the bullet only ended up grazing her side. But it still did some damage. There was now a hole in her duster, and blood was pouring out at an alarming rate. Funnily enough, she didn't seem to have much of a reaction to the wound. She stumbled back a bit, but that was about it. She looked slowly down at the bloodied wound, then back up at me. There was an unrecognizable glimmer in her eyes, and they were watering it seemed. I scoffed, then full on laughed at this.

"What, are you gonna cry? Does baby need a tissue?" I mocked cruelly. "Not so fucking invincible now are we!?" I asked and laughed maniacally at the same time. I threw my head back in hysterical laughter, clutching at my sides. I was dying!

Man, I guess I really did lose it.

My knees bent forward and I was very close to falling onto my knees, my mouth was wide open, eyes squinted shut and boisterous cackles flooded the halls. I wasn't even sure what I was laughing so hard about. Maybe it was a coping mechanism for all the shit I've had to put up with in the past few weeks, maybe I've really gone insane.

In my blind laughing rage, I dropped the firearm to the ground and started chortling even louder. If that were even possible. All the while, Scapegrace just stood there, frozen in place and dripping blood. She didn't look like she was shaking or anything, it was like the pain was non existent. I've read about this in the articles about her, about how she often times didn't seem to feel any pain at all. Which perhaps made her more frightening, especially to the humans. But not to me.

Through my awful cackling, I could faintly make out an army of footsteps coming up the steps, but I only kept laughing. Never stopping. Scapegrace suddenly dove forward and yanked me down towards her, covering my mouth with her hand like a band aid. My voice was muffled by her gloved hand, and her other one came down to pinch my nose, making it so now I couldn't make a sound at all. Since I was laughing so hard, my head had started to ache and I could barely open my eyes. She began dragging me away down the halls opposite of the staircases where the footsteps were coming form. My feet weakly obeyed her commands, but I tried wriggling free from her grasp. She wouldn't let me drag in a breath and I was starting to feel dizzy, even more so than I was before. She wrenched open the door to a janitor's closet and forced me inside, shoving me in and slamming the door behind me before I could protest. My little fit started to finally die down and my mind registered just what she was doing to me. I turned around after slowly recovering and gazed out of the small window to see Scapegrace standing just as still as before in the middle of the hall. Feet spread apart, shotgun back in her hands and ready to shoot.

I wanted to burst out of the door and take her down, but something had stopped me. And that something was her demonic screech sounding like it came straight from hell. It was loud and piercing, filling every crevice in the hall and in the closet and classrooms. It was so loud, I had to shield my ears with my hands, but even then it still rattled my brain. I could have screamed at the top of my lungs but it still wouldn't have been heard over that fucking screech.

I gazed off to the side to see what was in front of her, coming after her presumably. I saw a hoard of Maligns had came running at her, but stopped abruptly after let out that ear bloodying scream. She then raised the firearm and with both hands, unlike my stupid ass, began effortlessly and professionally pulling the trigger, shooting at them all. She hit them all point blank in either the head, or the heart, killing them instantly. The ones she shot fell down like dominos, yet all the rest of them were just too stupid to stop and consider the situation. She was armed with a fucking auto shotgun. They were not. She may have been outnumbered, but that didn't seem to stop her in her motionless rampage.

Once she ran out of ammunition, she started using the firearm as a melee weapon, striking everywhere possible and bringing the Maligns, I'm assuming they were Maligns, to their knees. Her body contorted and twisted into impossible maneuver's: back arching like she had no spine, head twisting around like she didn't have a neck. There were so many of them, they could have easily dominated over her, but her impossibly accurate calculated movements fucking destroyed them and their brutal but mindless attacks.

I saw her use a man as a shield against their bullets, I saw her spin around like she was performing an elegant dance number in order to avoid being shot up. Amazingly enough, she wasn't grazed, not even once. She was perfect in everything she did, despite the terrible gun shot wound on her side. It kept on bleeding the entire time, blood staining her clothes and sometimes even splattering onto her enemies. I was left to quake in astonishment and even fear. I wonder why she didn't bother performing any of those highly effective attacks on me, after all I was an easy target. Well, I  _am_  an easy target. Once she's finished with these guys, she could easily come yanking me back out there and impale me with just her bare fist. And she just might. I considered just bolting out the door and making a run for it, but overall I knew better than to do that. If I knew anything about this criminal/vigilante, it's that she would be able to catch me in record time just like she's been able to catch all of those other innocent students. Seemingly innocent students.

In the end, I just decided to stay put where I was, my chest still heaving and my breath hot and heavy. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I was terrified. I wanted to cry, I wanted my Winter back!

 I didn't want to listen to the screams of all those students and all these Maligns anymore, I just wanted things to go back to normal. But something tells me that cannot happen anymore. Maybe that Bratland twin in right. The end was near. The end is near. This is the end, and we're all fucked. The Maligns are coming to take over, they want to use us and the human as their own personal fuck machines. Anarchy and mayhem will soon make way, they will soon become our new queen and my heart stopped just thinking about it. I just want things to go back to normal. Why can't we all just live a normal life? Why the Benigns and Maligns have to be created?


	43. Parade

**Demetri's POV**

We got to New York in record time. We made no stops, and we speed raced all the way here until we finally reached the outskirts of the city, where we could already see the mayhem unfolding. The city already looked like a dystopian disaster, people were running aimlessly out into the streets, I could see Dracs chasing after them and even slaughtering them, laughing hysterically and taking enjoyment from spreading their blood all over the place. I saw some Killjoy's trying to defend the humans, some of them winning and some of them getting themselves killed in the process. It wasn't even a day into this grueling battle and already the state was painted red.

Our pack of military vehicles all went into different directions, many Killjoys jumping out and springing into action, throwing themselves right in the middle of all this anarchy. Winter, still in the passenger seat beside me, had retrieved an E. pistol from the glove compartment, loading in swiftly and readying herself to shoot. I did the same with my free hand, using the other to serve the car off to the side, hitting a Drac straight on, just barely missing the human he was attacking. I crushed him with the wheels, rolled down my window and hot him from inside for good measure. The car had come to a screeching halt a few feet in front of the poor wounded human, and Winter and I exchanged looks that told each other we were ready to risk our lives for this cause. We locked eyes for a brief moment in time, it felt like an eternity all in just one second. But in that one second, we understood just what the other person was saying without having to speak.

Without another word, Winter's backpack strapped to her backside, we smoothly hopped out of our seats and aimed our firearms straight ahead at all the Dracs already headed our way. They were all brandishing their deadly canines, blood and bits of flesh stuck between their teeth and hissing as if they were wild animals. With blank faces on, we shot as many of them as we could in the head. They fell dead on the spot, but that didn't stop the ones still living from coming straight for us. One of them changed their plan up a bit and leaped in the air, intending to tackle me to the asphalt. We swung my leg around and landed a roundhouse kick in the center of the Dracs chest. It stopped midair with an unexpected squeak, and it flew backwards, collapsing on its back.

"Behind you!" I heard Winter's scarily placid voice warn. I spun on my heel and nailed a Drac in the forehead, and then another one coming from the side. A backhand to another one, as well as a stomp to one gnawing at my ankle. While Winter was fending off anything that came her way, she grabbed the sobbing human by the arm and escorted him to the back seat of my car. She slammed and locked the doors and came back around to the drivers seat. I got back into the passenger side this time around and kept pulling the trigger with the window rolled down as she sped down the street, narrowly dodging oncoming vehicles intending to ram into us and eluded a hail of bullets aimed directly at her head. The human in the backseat screamed, utterly terrified. He covered his ears, trying to convince himself that none of this was real.

I wanted to do the same.

I was truly amazed at how skilled Winter was at maneuvering the vehicle, even through these straining conditions but I had no time to admire her handy work. I was too busy shooting Dracs and trying to keep the wailing human below the windows so as to avoid being attacked or shot as well.

Much to our displeasure, Winter's amazing skill at narrowly escaping danger was thwarted when another truck came absolutely out of nowhere and t-boned us. The car was pushed off to the side, nearly tipping over, glass flying everywhere and slicing our skin. My ears started to ring slightly, and for a second I thought I'd go soaring out the window. I caught sight of Winter half heartedly shielding her head from all the sharp glass and debris. A sharp pain in my side made me groan out loud and my head felt foggy. But I couldn't let that stop me.

I didn't get to see much of what happened, but I did get to see the human we tried to save being crushed to death in the back. I cursed through my teeth at this unwanted casualty and diverted my attention to the side where we were just hit. Before either of us could comprehend it, an agile Drac hopped atop the roof, reached down and grabbed Winter by the shoulders, dragging her out. I yelled for her and darted out as well to see a Drac more than ready to snap her neck. I went to shoot him, but just my luck...! I'm out of bullets!

I didn't have time to reload, so instead I tried jumping up to the roof to rescue her but of course, I was tackled from the side! Me and another Drac went rolling to the side, the tables continuously turning and I was trying desperately to get the upper hand. I finally landed on top of him, and I wasn't about to let that change. I used both my thumbs to press down on his eyes, making sure to dig my nails into the sensitive flesh as well. He shrieked in beautiful agony, and soon his eyes caved. Blood spurted up, splatting along my chin. His destroyed sight pools trembled underneath me, cinnabar red tears coming down the sides of his face. In my rage, I stirred my thumbs around like his sockets were pots, his screams growling louder, more piercing.

I lifted my body off of his, knowing he was useless now. He wouldn't be able to attack me if he wanted to. He rolled helplessly around the ground, yelling his head off and cursing my very existence. I brushed him off like he was a bratty child, landed a quick kick to his gut and heard him let out a sickly retch. When I looked over, Winter had turned the tables during her own scuffle and threw the Drac off the roof. She hopped back down, now swinging a fairly short but intimidating machete. She cut a Drac in half from the stomach down while twisting on her heel, and then mercilessly beheaded another one going in for the attack. Soon, she had retreated over to where I was, her back pressed against mine as we were surrounded by dozens of Dracs. We were obviously heavily outnumbered. I gulped, hoping that a team of Killjoys would miraculously appear out of nowhere and help us out, but no such thing took place.

They circled us, snarling and hissing and biting at the air. I could just imagine one of their jaws chomping down on my neck, separating it from my body in a matter of milliseconds. The thought alone made the hairs on my arms stand on end. I reached for a dagger being held in one of my holsters, then for the other one so I had one in each hand. I felt Winter's heavy breathing along my backside, sweat dripped down the sides of my forehead despite it being quite cold out today. But the cold was no match for the adrenaline heating my entire system.

"Fuck...!" I hissed through clenched teeth.

"What do we do...?" Winter half whispered. With narrowed, angry eyes, I responded.

"Don't die."

"Gee, that really fucking helps!" she chastised and I rolled my eyes.

"Now's not the time to be a fucking smartass, Sheba!"

Without warning, a sudden choir of taunting whispers invaded our ears. The Dracs were whispering things like,  _die, Killjoy scum, filthy pigs, good for nothing wastes of space_....It was entertaining more than anything, and I would have laughed out loud at their juvenile attempts at trash talk. But all at once, they sprang forward and we were left to do nothing but slash with our blades every which way possible. It took our all not to get trampled by these fuckers, or to get buried in a deadly dog pile. Sharp teeth bit down on my skin and every time I would shake them off or rip myself away, losing a small chunk of flesh in the process. I dodged up and down, left to right, and jumped up as far as my feet would allow in order to avoid being cut in half. I managed to get a few Dracs here in there, killing a couple and seriously injuring the rest. At one point, I managed to swing my leg to the side and knock one of them to the ground. They were trapped under my knee pressing down onto their neck, so it was impossible for them to escape the oncoming blade that would impale their forehead. They died instantly within the giant, massive cluster fuck of swinging knives, chomping jaws and desperate howls.

Winter leaped over my body, landing in a graceful barrel roll and taking down two Dracs at a time. Her machete sliced them in half, but her agility was rivaled by one of them tackling her from the side and biting down on her neck. She let out a shrill shriek and my first instinct was to go and aid her. But nothing ever goes to plan now that everything has gone to shit. I as bombarded with more Dracs dragging me to the floor and scratching, biting, hissing ect...at every single part of my body that they could reach. I could barely move my arms and legs, my voice had become strained from all my persistent cursing and my head started to ache. But I never gave up fighting.

Teeth marks, bloodied teeth marks decorated my whole body now. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to move at all, now. It was practically impossible to free myself from these living shackles! I could no longer see what they were doing to Winter. I couldn't even see if she was still alive! She had to be, though. She just had to. If I knew anything about her, it's that she will not be defeated so easily.

Just when I thought my life was surely done, what sounded like a mini gun going off could be heard. Swarms of bee like bullets swam through the air, hitting almost every single one of the enemies and soon I was freed from my living restraints. I kicked their lifeless corpses away and rolled onto my feet, to see Jet Star and a few other Killjoys wielding fully loaded sub-machine guns. Ray gave a playful smirk, a lit cigarette hanging loosely from his lips.

"Looks like you two got yourself in a bit of a pickle, huh?" he teased. I rolled my eyes and stood up straight.

"Here!" One of the Killjoys threw me and Winter one of the same sub-machine guns. We both caught them effortlessly and instantly joined in on their miniature army. He stood on guard, already seeing another hoard of Dracs coming at us like a tsunami. Winter, Jet, and I all crouched down and began shooting at them while the rest remained standing, shooting as well. There was about six or seven of us, and we easily took out the front liners. But they were soon trampled on and replaced by even more, and it seemed this wave wouldn't die down.

"We need to move back!" Jet commanded. We all followed suit and began running the opposite direction, still shooting while we did so.

"We're gonna need more ammo!" I hollered. Jet immediately threw me another fresh clip. I reloaded as fast as possibly and resumed my task in shooting them down. The wave was starting to look a little smaller, but not by much. Anxiety started to build up in the pit of my stomach as we marched on like a parade, killing everything in sight. Never being phased when face fulls of fresh Drac blood covered our faces.

I turned to peek over my shoulder to make sure I wouldn't trip over something stupid, but I didn't turn back around because yet another large wave of Dracs came rushing at us, blood thirsty as all hell. Most of them remained unarmed, some of them wielding daggers and switchblades but they were still capable of doing copious amounts of damage, even killing us all because there were hundreds upon hundreds of them. There were only seven of us.

I swallowed thickly and wiped the sweat from dripping into my eyes. I didn't want to admit that we were fucked, but I was also at a loss for what to do next. What was there to do next? Time was running out, and soon we would all be trampled to death. Either that or they would dice us all up like onions with their red stained daggers. I tried counting our options, but it seemed there wasn't any. There were no other options other than excepting our fate.

I never thought that we'd be taken out so quickly, and I certainly never thought there would be so many Dracs already. I couldn't even imagine how many humans they must have taken out by now, and it's only been a few hours. These thoughts made my heart stop, and the urge to start wailing uncontrollably was unbearable...but I can't let my emotions get the best of me. I've spent so many taxing weeks training for this day, for this revolution. I can not afford to get knocked down so easily. It hasn't even been twenty minutes for fucks sake! How could we let them get the best of us just like that?

No. No no no no no. I refuse to believe that this is the end already. There's got to be another way! I've gotten out of tight situations sort of similar to this in the past, this scenario should be no different! If I can get through all of that, we can get through this! This, I'm certain of!

All of these thoughts ambushed my brain in just the few seconds after realizing how close we are to meeting death.

"OVER HERE!" I called desperately out to everyone as I saw we were in the direct path of a doorway leading into a grocery store. Granted, I could clearly see there were panicked humans and hounding beasts in there, but at least we would have a chance of surviving. If we fight hard enough, we can do this!

None of them had the time to argue with me, they obeyed and we all darted inside, nearly breaking through the glass and instantly shoving and shooting our way inside. I tried avoiding as many of the humans as possible, only going for the Dracs. But sometimes, it was very difficult to distinguish who was human and who wasn't. They all looked pretty similar. But I think we've got this.

We shot a pathway through the massacred store, and knocked down many things off the shelves in an attempt to slow down our pursuers. We all ended up splitting up unintentionally during this process, but luckily Winter was still by my side. We ran all the way towards the back where only the employee's were allowed to be. Before we could reach our destination, a Drac appear out of nowhere and leaped at the both of us. She had a long, six foot sword in her grasp and we both managed to avoid the sharp blade in just the nick of time. We both shot her down within seconds and continued running. A Killjoy ran towards us with frantic eyes and stopped abruptly in front of us.

"I suggest you take cover, because this place is about to blow!" she warned, and we both widened our eyes at the sight of her holding two grenades within her hands. She ran forward toward the hoard, pulling one pin at a time and chucking them over the shelves. Winter and I grabbed each others hand to make sure we wouldn't lose each other as we dove for the employee's only section near the back. We couldn't be sure when the grenades would go off, all the more reason to find cover as fast as possible, if there even was cover where we were headed!

Of course, there were Dracs and dead humans infesting this area of the store, but instead of shooting at them, we simply ran past them, dodging their lame attacks and the six to seven foot tall crates full of stocked products. While we were dashing madly, the explosions happened, one right after the other. The ground shook under our feet, flaming hot walls of fire and ash came barreling in through the door in which we came through, stinging our backsides. We slid across the concrete flooring and took refuge behind one of the large crates. Endless screams of the soon-to-be deceased were amplified, my ears rang and many of the Dracs in here were killed from the sheer power of these explosions. Ash fell like snow, and I took this chance to peek over our shitty little cover to see mangled, maimed bodies littering the place.

"Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck--" Winter kept repeating over and over like a broken record. I could tell she was at a loss for what to do next. "I'm out of ammo!" she proclaimed. I cursed at myself, because when I pulled the trigger to shoot at a few oncoming Dracs, I didn't get anything either.

"No matter!" I said before running from our cover and swinging my fists at the fewer enemies coming our way. Winter joined in soon after, and once again we stood back to back, fighting vehemently and spewing random profanities every time one of them would get a good hit in. But at least the situation wasn't as nerve wracking. At least now we knew we stood a chance at survival.

"We need to get back out there!" Winter shouted. I nodded my head, agreeing with her and we started making our way back into the main area of the building. I almost gagged at the overwhelming stench of dead bodies, blood and guts on the floor, walls and shelves. Most of them having been knocked over. We had to be careful not to slip on any of the blood.

Of course, it still wasn't completely empty but once again we could do nothing more than rely on our fists and hope for the best.

We did eventually make it back outside, but the streets weren't in any better condition. It looked like a war zone, which, I guess it was.

"What do we do..." I murmured more to myself than anyone else. Winter suddenly slung her backpack off the ground and grabbed a pair of hatchets that I recognized from our armory back at the manor. She handed one to me.

"It's not much, but it's something."

"We should have come here better armed!"

"You think!?" She retorted. Before I had a chance to counter her little snide comment, she spun around with lightning speed and sliced the throat of two Dracs I somehow failed to realize were coming. I immediately figured I should do the same, since it was obvious we still weren't alone.

"Where's Jet!?" she shrieked in the midst of our ongoing battle.

"He probably didn't make it!" I answered back truthfully. I barely got to see her face but I could tell it had fallen and tears brimmed her eyes. They left just as quickly as they came, though. I had a conversation with her much earlier about how we couldn't let our tears get the best of us in times like this. We will lose our comrades, but that's just one of the many prices we pay when entering this fight.

She didn't say another word and only focused on defending both of us from the enemies, and so did I. We eventually began slowly making our way down the sidewalk while doing this, but they just kept coming and coming! There has to be an end to this, come on!

I growled and finally hacked the brains out of a particularly persistent Drac, my arms beginning to grow soar from all the strain already. Half hour in and New York already looks decimated. This is just fucking amazing. I knew things would be bad, but once again I didn't think they would be  _this_  bad! At this rate, we're sure to lose.

No! I can't think like that, this is only just the beginning! If I die, it won't be the end of this fight! The others will carry on just fine without me!

All of a sudden, we both heard a scream from a distance. We turned around at the same time to see a little girl about to get mauled by a vicious Drac with fresh blood trickling from its filthy canines. The little girl was crying hysterically and clutching onto a stuffed, blood stained white bunny. Winter acted instantaneously, reeling her arm back and throwing her hatchet at it and it buried itself deep into the back of its neck. It screeched in response and turned to us with wide arms, sharp claws extending from its fingers. Now that's what I call a Hell Spawn.

It bounded toward us. I ran back at it while Winter ducked and rolled under it before it had a chance to tackle her. She rolled her way over to the little girl and grabbed her up into her arms. The small child screamed and buried her face into Winter's bony shoulder. She gingerly shushed her, her hand stroking up and down the kids hair.

"It's okay Honey, It's okay now." she hummed despite the hell all around us, people screaming, Killjoys shooting off their guns and Dracs spewing awful curses at everything in their path. The hatred for my brother coursed through my veins, fueling my fire. This is the kind of hell only he could be responsible for.

While Winter was busy trying to calm the child down, I attacked viciously with my hatchet, grabbing the one in its neck as well before it had a chance to use it for itself. I swung my arms toward each other, almost creating an 'x', effectively severely injuring this thing. But it was far from being dead. It screamed in my face.

"You're exactly how your better looking brother described!" it spat.

"Joke's on you gay shit, we look the same!" I spat back with venom, landing a kick to its stomach. It staggered back a few steps, and bent backwards when I tried to go for its head. It shot forward, grabbing me by the neck and throwing me down onto my front. I coughed and rolled out of the way before it could land on top of me. It kept lunging for my throat, but I kept leaping back, trying to guide it away from Winter and the little girl.

"EMILY, OH MY GOD!" a woman, presumably the child's mother, called. From my peripheral, I saw Winter handing the little girl over to her mom, and instructing for her to get in a car and drive as far as possible. While this was going on, the Drac managed to haul me over its shoulder and slam me down onto the hood of a car. My back ached terrible and I cursed as loud as possible. My head had cracked the glass of the windshield, and I'm pretty sure that broke the skin of my scalp. It tried leaping on top of me, but I blocked it with my feet, forcing it back and getting on my feet. This time, when I went to strike it, I got it deep into the side of its neck, nearly cutting off his head. I waved my other arm up, the blade of the weapon digging into the bottom of its chin. I yanked them both out and finally landed one final blow to the top of its skull. It fell down onto its knees, then collapsed back onto its side. I loomed over it, panting like a dog in the summer time. The hatchets dripped with vital fluid.

Another shrill screech from my side, another Drac. I was ready to engage into a fight with this one, but before it could move any farther, a BOOM could be heard, and it was sent crashing to the side. I glanced over to see a Killjoy not too far away holding a shotgun, nodding her head towards me. I nodded at her back, saluting in thanks and quickly going to return to Winter's side. I took a second to look around, for I hadn't spotted her at first. But I soon turned to see her fighting off another group of Dracs. It looked like she was struggling a bit, and I bit my lip. I started heading over there to assist her instantly, hatchets at the ready. She was a good several meters away, and I tried whistling to grab at least one of those monsters attention, but to no avail.

"SIR, GET AWAY!" someone howled at me. Before I had a chance to realize what this person was referring to, an explosion sounded from the building to my right, it was a corporate office building, the bomb detonating near the entrance. Not long after, there seemed to have been a chain reaction. Explosions imitating those of 9/11 went off on each of the floors and slowly but surely, the building started to tilt more and more towards the street.

All the color drained from my face when I realized what was happening. Without thinking, I sprinted back the way I came to evade being crushed by a tidal wave of rubble and concrete. I felt like Indiana Jones; as I ran, the sharp debris and asphalt assaulted my back, large chunks slamming into the back of my skull and I nearly tripped a couple of times. My heart was pounding in my chest and in my ears making it hard to focus. I don't think I've eve ran this fast in my whole life...

I screamed out loud and focused on nothing but getting away. I noticed another person standing paralyzed in the midst of this disaster. It looked to be a girl in her teen years, unable to move. I ran right into her, very hastily throwing her over my shoulder and dashing with her. She screamed at this and started sobbing violently. I blocked out her high pitched voice and only ran faster. I couldn't let any more humans die by the hand of my brother!

It wasn't just me running to escape being buried alive. Dozens of panicked citizens and determined, loyal soldiers were right beside me. Just as we had reached the end of the danger zone, I was cut off by one of the enemies. Before she probably realized what was happening, I tossed the girl over, she landed quite harshly along the road, but it was better than being eaten alive. I slid past the Drac, cutting its legs out from under him in the process.

He was too injured to try and do anything else, and besides. His whole body disappeared within the rubble.

Thick, dense dust rose from what used to be one of the largest buildings in New York, and I started to panic.

Where was Winter!? She made it out alive, didn't she!?

I darted my gaze every which way, expecting to see her bright white hair dancing in the wind. But she was nowhere to be seen...

The spot she was in previously was now a monstrous gob of concrete and scree.

"Winter!" I called, dropping the hatchets and stepping forwards. When I didn't get an answer the first time, I tried again.

"WINTER!" I cried, this time louder and more desperately. I still didn't get a response. My heart was beating furiously against my rib cage, my hands trembled violently. I stepped unceremoniously onto what used to be a building, hoping this would somehow help the situation. I refused to believe she was dead so soon. If she's dead, then that means Scapegrace is, too! And if Scapegrace dies...

"WINTER!!!"

Nothing.

I gulped, staring out into the void. My vision was starting to get blurry from a mixture of brimming tears and wooziness. My body swayed from side to side, and I tripped, my hands getting scraped up terribly from catching myself in the middle of all this mess. She can't be dead. She can't be dead! Not already! We need her! She's the catalyst that set off a chain reaction of angry Killjoys! Without her, we wouldn't have the same courage as we do now, this revolution never would have happened.

I whimpered when I realized that, yes....she was dead. There's no way even her would have survived something like  _this_.

I glanced over my shoulder to see all the people that needed my help, then back in front of me to the nothingness of this street. It was useless. There's nothing I can do. I can't very just dig through all of this to find her, because it won't do any good.

She was a good soldier. She served us well. But I had to push back my emotional connections with her and carry on.


	44. Miss Murder

**Gerard's POV**

I almost couldn't fathom just how Scapegrace managed to move her body the way she did. The way her spine contorted as if it weren't even there, the way she could shoot off two guns at the same time and still behead someone with a roundhouse kick. The way she fought could easily rival against that of Bruce Lee...

Her side wasn't even bleeding anymore, as if the wound had already sealed up. Her eyes were dull and lifeless the whole time as she executed Malign after Malign. The way her mask somehow never moved from its rightful place along her mouth. The way she didn't even blink when blood bespattered all over them. All of the moves she pulled off that I never thought were possible, surely something like that could only ever happen in the work of fiction, but this wasn't fiction.

She used a Maligns body as a shield against their raging bullets, she leaped in the air, twirling like a fidget spinner and landed gracefully along the edge of two swords that were coming for her on either side. Instead of impaling her, however, the two men had ended up impaling each other. She jumped down from her place on top of the sword, slid and spun on her knees while effortlessly taking out three more enemies.

The entire hallway was infested with them, like sewer roached. But that didn't seem to stop, or bother her. She handled the situation as if she'd handled much worse than this in the past. She treated it almost as casually as stepping on a bug. Maybe that's all this was to her, just stepping on a few filthy pests. Maybe that was how she was able to carry herself in the way that she did.

In a way, I was envious of the way she could just brush anything off like it was nothing. But I also hated her for it, because what if that's the way she treated Winter when she no doubt killed her? What if Winter was crying her eyes out, begging for her not to hurt her, begging to be spared. On her knees, pleading to her, pleading to god...but Scapegrace just gave her a soulless gaze and pulled the trigger, or swung her blade, or stomped on her skull, crushing it under the weight of her boot....I didn't want to fucking think about it, but my mind wouldn't let me think of anything else! It burned into my thoughts, red hot searing pain rushing through me like she was holding a brand up to my skull! I hated the effect she had on me, she somehow was able to cause me the worst pain imaginable without even doing anything!

I wonder if other people think of her in the same light as I do. Of course, people hate her. Practically everyone in New York detested everything she stood for, but I wonder if there was anybody out there who could barely handle being in the same room as her. Because I felt like my fucking head was about to explode. I needed to drill a hole in my skull just to alleviate some of the pressure.

I was tempted to scream out loud, but my throat had closed up and I choked. My eyes were red and blood shot, clothes suddenly feeling like they weighed a ton. I wanted to yell and thrash around like a maniac inside this horrible confined space, but my body couldn't move. My entire existence was just a giant oxymoron and I hated it! I hate her! I hate what she's done to me! Who the fuck did she think she was!? Why couldn't she die!? No matter what anybody does, she never fucking dies!! She's been ran over, she's been nearly cut in half, eyes scratched and head bashed in with a fucking crow bar!! But she never dies! No matter what happens to her...she might be incapacitated for a few short moments, but she always gets right back up and causes mayhem. She's a fucking grenade. Everywhere she walks, destruction ensues.

I finally gathered the strength to lift my head after shielding my ears from those vomit inducing shrieks of agony and saw all the floors and walls painted with red. Including Scape herself. Her body was moving up and down along with her heavy breath, fingers spread wide and clothes soaked in gallons of the stuff. Dead bodies were everywhere, it was sickening even for someone like me. She stood in the middle of it all, completely unfazed like the monster she is. I can't believe I ever thought she was a good guy...

I shakily opened up the closet door, stepping out into the battlefield. I could hear a faint splash below me as I walked cautiously toward her direction. Her hands went back to normal, and her chin very slowly lifted to stare at me. That wildfire in her eyes was gone and replaced with something else that, once again, I could not recognize. But I didn't want to recognize it. I didn't want to be near her, but I was afraid of what would happen if I tried to run.

In fact, I was afraid to do anything. One wrong move, or even one move at all could result in my getting my neck snapped. Or my legs to be cut out from underneath me. Or my eyes to be gouged out of my skull. So I didn't move. I stared anxiously at her, waiting for something to happen. I wanted for her to do something, to speak. But nobody has ever reported her talking for real. She'll growl, hiss, and sometimes you could make out very faint words that barely sounded like words, more like the low rumbling of a lion. But sometimes, very rarely, she'll communicate with people another way. I was hoping maybe she'd do something so I could understand what she wanted from me, because this entity was so god damn confusing. First it seemed like she wanted my blood, but then she refused to attack me head on. I just didn't get it.

We stood there for so long, my ears were ringing when she finally crouched low, gathering some of the vital fluid with her gloved finger. I watched down in apprehension as she then started toward one side of the wall. She casually wiped away some of the red paint and started writing with her soaked finger. My chest leaped, yet also felt like it dropped at the same time. She was actually communicating with me, but I also was terrified at what she was going to write. It couldn't have been anything good.

With slow, dreadful movements, I saw the words coming into formation.

" **WE NEED TO LEAVE** "

Immediately, I scrunched my face up in disgust. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

" **YOU WILL IF YOU WANT TO LIVE** "

"What, are you gonna fucking slaughter me, too!?"

She shook her head as if what I had said was preposterous. I shifted my weight to one hip and crossed my arms like a bitchy teenage girl. Like hell I was gonna follow her.

" **NO** "

"Then why the fuck would I ever go with you, huh!?"

" **BECAUSE YOU WANT TO SEE HER AGAIN** "

My face fell instantly, and I felt my arms go limp.

She didn't mean Winter, did she?

"S..See who?" I stuttered.

" **YOU KNOW WHO** "

"Are you...you d-didn't kill her?" My eyes gleamed with tears of relief when she shook her head, no. I gasped and covered my mouth, realizing she was probably okay. Turns out I didn't need that drilled hole to feel better, but that still begs the question. Where was she? What happened to her? I know Scapegrace didn't kill her. As impossible as it seemed in my mind. But I still needed to know what was going on. Had she gotten caught up in the chaos that has made way into this school?

Suddenly, the vigilante/criminal everyone feared stepped away from the wall and instead went up to a red splattered window a few feet away. She stared through the glass, somehow a volatile glint showing in her eyes. She craned her neck to look back at me, motioning slightly for me to come look, too. I didn't do anything at first, I wanted to take this opportunity and just run, but something invisible kept me from doing so. It felt like my body was acting against my will, and I found myself doing as she commanded. My passionate hatred for her existence had died down in the last minute or so. I still didn't like her, but finding that she didn't kill my love made things more bearable. I was now able to stand next to her and not want to strangle her.

I tentatively stepped next to her and was appalled to say the least when I saw what looked to be a war zone on not only the campus, but everywhere else, too. Bodies littered the streets, people were shooting at everyone, wild animals were tearing humans apart...I'd never seen anything like it, and I started crying after only a few seconds.

I didn't want to believe that this was real, but it was. I knew it was. Winter was gone, Frank and Mikey could be dead for all I know, all those students hidden in the classrooms could be dead, too. Scapegrace was standing right next to me and I was trembling like I was cold. I wanted to go back home, I wanted nothing more than to wake up after this bad dream and find my head resting on my dear brother's lap just like toward the beginning, before I started having an affair with one of my students. I wanted to feel his nimble fingers calmly stroking through my hair again, I just wanted for everything to go back to normal. This isn't what I signed up for.

" **YOU DON'T LIKE ME. THAT'S FINE. BUT LET'S SAVE THOSE MURDEROUS DESIRES FOR LATER, SHALL WE?** "

I looked over and saw that she'd written something else along the same wall. I didn't even notice her walking back over there, I was so distracted. I released my clenched fists and exhaled slowly. As much as I didn't want to, I found myself nodding my head.

"Fine...I'll-I'll forget about my vendetta against you for now...but I swear, if I find you really did kill her-"

She cut me off by raising her hand, signaling me to stop speaking.

" **I DIDN'T. I MAY BE A MONSTER BUT I AM NOT A LIAR** "

My jaw was hard for a moment before I huffed and started down the hall.

"Let's go." I reluctantly called after her. I was shocked to see that she had already surpassed me in going down the steep stairs, I had to speed up just to keep up. Nothing could be heard except for our rushed footsteps because of course she wouldn't communicate verbally, and I had nothing else to say to her.

We reached the concrete sidewalk after a few moments to see the whole place practically decimated. Screams and war cries could be heard in the distance and I suddenly felt very vulnerable, uneasy. Scapegrace seemed to sense how I was feeling, for she grabbed a dagger from her holster and mindlessly handed it to me. I had the urge to smack it away, I didn't want anything from her, but my rational side got the best of me and I grabbed it anyway, despite how much I didn't want to.

I didn't bother thank her, and only brandished it, ready to slash at anything and anyone that came near us. I wanted to ask Scape just what the hell was happening here, what that announcement over the speakers was about an why the Maligns were suddenly killing off every living thing they came across, but a part of me felt like I already knew the answers to these questions. After all, one of the Bratland twins have warned us of something like this happening. I guess I should have taken him a bit more seriously.

We were a good distance away from the Lego building--I assumed we were headed somewhere off campus--when a Malign suddenly leaped from up above and landed right in front of. The gravel cracked under its feet and bounded to tackle us down. I heard a cat like hiss come from Scapegrace before we rolled out of the way. I got back up quickly and went to jump onto its back. It threw me off instantly and I went tumbling away as it swung its foot long claws down at the vigilante/criminal. She grasped at an abandoned pistol and shot it dead. I gulped, no very aware of my surroundings. The crippling fatigue I was experiencing not too long ago having dissipated and in its place was pure adrenaline. I felt like I just did thirty lines of straight cocaine.

"Whoa, that was--AH!" I was cut short by a strong force knocking me into my side and forcing me down. The dagger she'd lent me went rolling away and I gasped, desperately reaching out for it. I yelled even louder when a pair of teeth chomped down harshly along my shoulder and tugging, as if trying to rip my flesh away!

Scapegrace of course came to the rescue, tackling it off of me and wrestling with it for a few moments before she pinned it underneath her, her knees crushing its shoulders and shooting it. I knew better than to just stand around again, so I turned around to see two more oncoming attackers. One jumped for me, so I ducked and jumped as well, drop kicking the second one square in the chest.

"HAAA!!" I let out a shrieking war cry and smashed the palm of my hand against its adams apple, causing for it to choke and stagger back away from me. I roundhouse kicked it this time in the head, then again until it was bleeding profusely. Before I had a chance to go in for the kill, the first Malign hopped on my back and started clawing at my eyes. I screeched in protest and threw it off of me. It landed at my feet, I wasted not time in stomping on it mercilessly just like Scape would do. I turned around and landed a punch to the second one, because this time around I was anticipating for him to be waiting for another chance to get me. 

Once again, Scapegrace was there to aid me in my struggles to fight against these things. She snapped the first ones neck, then shooting it in the head for good measure before going to shoot the one I was wrestling with, only to find the pistol had run out of bullets. I finally managed to bring its face down onto my knee, and I grimaced slightly at the feeling of his nose breaking over my bone. It hurt me, too, but I ignored the sensation and instead threw it to the ground. I got on top of its back and continuously rammed its face down into the concrete until it could no longer move. 

When I got up off of it, I stood up to see Scapegrace and her cheeks raised slightly as if she were smiling in satisfaction. I only scoffed at the look on her face and stepped backwards, retrieving that knife I dropped. 

Just when I thought I could take a breather, two hisses from the ground caught both of our attention, and of course all three of the original Maligns who had caught us off guard started rising, faces maimed, necks twitching unnaturally. Scape and I exchanged weary looks before we both turned to dash in the same direction away from these fools. Our strides were almost in sync and I mentally retched at this. But I tried my best to push back those feelings and instead focused on the issue at hand. 

"FUCK!" 

I cursed loudly as Scape somehow got ahead of me, leading me. I followed her without question and soon we were nearing the edge of campus. I did my best to ignore the pleading cries for help of those less fortunate and focus on getting out of here, because I knew in my mind that we couldn't save them as much as I wanted to. Just the two of us was no match for all these enemies. 

Just when we thought we would reach the outside, another five Maligns came out of their hiding spots and blocked out path. We weren't stupid enough to try and take them all on their own, and so we skidded and turned to the right, headed for another unit building. The more we ran, the more Maligns took notice of us and soon, we were running from about ten to fifteen of them. We crashed right through a unit buildings doors, nearly slipping from all the blood covering the tiles and carefully dodging all the corpses hindering us. There wasn't as many in this unit, but we still had to be mindful. 

Just my luck, Scapegrace was thrown off to the side, slamming into an open doorway and I heard her body colliding into a pile of wooden desks. I wanted to go back and aid her like she has done for me, but I knew it would be suicide. Plus there was another Malign headed for me from the other side. My stomach dropped, but a glimmer of hope resurfaced through my black sea as I saw a slightly rusted over sword a few inches away from the cold, dead hands of a dead Benign. I eyed it and turned my body just slightly, so it looked as if I was going to fall. But instead of that happening, I slid along the tiles, the blood acting almost as a propeller for me. I reached my hand out and grabbed at the sword on the ground, then held it upwards right above me to that when the Malign tried pouncing on me, it ended up just losing its head. 

I managed to rise to my feet before any of the rest could take advantage. I yanked my sword out of its skull and whistled, grabbing the attention of all the others that were about to go for Scapegrace. Although I wasn't too worried about her being killed. Literally less than five minutes ago, I saw her savagely executing about seven at a time, being armed with nothing but a dagger and then nothing at all. 

I darted out through the doors on the opposite side of the unit building and ran far out enough so that I had an open space to fight in. I also felt a lot better with this much larger melee than that little dagger. I knew it was still capable of doing some real damage, but believe it or not, there are times when size does matter.

I knew what they were about to do, I saw it coming from a millennia away. I flipped the weapon skillfully a few times, catching by its handle each time while they all formed a perfect circle around me. I whistled once before I crouched down low, reeling my arm back. 

This sort of defense mechanism was not something that just anybody could easily pull off. In fact, anyone who tried anything like this for the most part was just asking to be obliterated. But I was fairly confident that I could pull this off. It just took a lot of perfect timing. If I did it a second too soon, or a second too late then I really wouldn't live to see the next day. My heart throbbed terribly, but I remained composed as I finally rose back to a standing position while simultaneously spinning around in a circle, swinging my sword in the process. I felt the weight of all my attackers as it slashed through their abdomens, knocking them away from me. This gave me enough time to see Scapegrace coming back out of the building, shaking off a Malign that was trying to eat her skull. She tossed it carelessly into the building before revealing that she now had a metallic, rusted over pipe with her. 

She managed to successfully dodge everyone that came for her, striking a few in the process, then finally made it over to where I was. We stood back to back and engaged in one of the most heated, intense and gun wrenching fights I'd ever been in. It's been years since I've went up against this many people, I was afraid I'd get lose very easily. However, I was surprised to find that I could still hold my own just like I could all those years ago. Now I can't say I was as dexterous or ruthless as my temporary partner in combat, but I was good at what I did no doubt. I could use a corpse as a shield, too. I could twist and turn and take down three men all at once just like she did. I probably didn't look at wickedly beautiful while doing so, but I could still do it nonetheless. 

It felt like forever, maneuvering my arms legs in ways I hadn't done so in an eternity. Switching from a low crouch to a high leap all in the span of a split second. At times, I grew dizzy and was almost taken advantage of. Blood got everywhere, sometimes it blinded my vision and truly amazed me now that Scapegrace was able to do this so wonderfully now that I was trying to do it myself. I now got a taste of what she went up against and I found that it definitely didn't look as easy as she did. My lungs were about ready to collapse, my back was aching from how many times I rolled away from an oncoming mirage of clenched fists and flourished fangs. Although, sometimes when I thought the pressure was too much, Scapegrace was there to save me like I was a damsel in distress. Much to my surprise, I didn't get many wounds, because every time an enemy came close to seriously hurting me, Scape would be there to tackle them down and thwart their attempts. She easily snapped the arms of many of them if they so much as punched me. And I couldn't help but wonder what inclined her to try and protect me as best she could. I couldn't help but wonder what made her come for me specifically when everything started going to shit. 

She was an enigma, alright. But once again I had no time to ponder, for at any moment I could be buried within a deadly dog pile and eaten alive. Needless to say, I wanted to avoid that fate as best I could. 

At times during this grueling fight, I'd find myself getting desperate, and I'd bite down on the flesh of attacking Maligns, just like a majority of them tried to do to me. But I beat them to the punch, and grinned maliciously at their vital fluid sliding down my throat. This energized me in ways I can't describe, and I laughed maniacally, slashing and thrashing every which way. I wonder what Winter would think of me if she saw me like this. I wonder if she'd cower away in fear or just stand and stare, not knowing what to do or say. 

By the end of it all, we were standing in what looked like a scene from the holocaust. Bodies everywhere, the potent stench of death strong in the air. It nearly replaced the oxygen we breathed. I blinked rapidly, and bent over, my hands resting on my knees, sword laying on the ground at my feet ready to be picked back up at a moments notice. I glanced over my shoulder to see Scapegrace panting as well, not as hard as I was, of course. 

"Oh fuck," I gasped. "H-How the fuck are you able to do that without passing out, god damn...!"

Of course she didn't respond with nothing more than a shrug and an awkward shuffling of her feet. It was a few moments before I felt I was ready enough to stand up properly and grab my weapon. I now felt extremely vulnerable without it. I think I might try and keep it. 

I shifted my weight to one hip again and studied her, looking over her entire slim figure. She looked back with an alert but not unsettling gaze. My jutted my chin out towards her. 

"Y'know," I started with a hoarse voice. "I still don't like you very much, but...I've got a bit more respect for you now that you're not trying to fucking gut me like a pig." 

She rolled her eyes annoyingly at me, and I almost chuckled because it reminded me of someone else who would reply that way. 

"Do you ever speak?" I asked out of nowhere. A cumbersome breath released from her mask and she nodded after a while of just nothing. I furrowed my brows. 

"Why not?" 

She broadened her shoulders, overcoat swaying along with her hasty strides and storming right past me. It wasn't until she was a good several meters away before she turned back around as if just noticing that I wasn't right on her heels, following her like a good little boy. Her eyes looked like they wanted to smack me even from all the way over here and she raised her arms out on either side of her body. Almost as if to say, you coming or what?" 

I quickly scampered over to her and into the student parking lot, but of fucking course the entire place was cramped with abandoned and totaled vehicles. It was extremely hard to get around, we couldn't even walk along the black gravel. So we resorted to climbing up on top of them, hoping not to set off any alarms or anything, and making sure our footsteps weren't too loud or anything. As silent as it was between us, it wasn't silent anywhere else. We could still hear agonized wails in the near distance. We didn't want to alert anyone else of our presence. 

It was extremely difficult to do this, more so than I would think. Many of these machines were dent and broken beyond repair, sometimes it was difficult not to trip and face plant the sharp metal. 

As we trudged and struggled on through, I looked up at the sky and frowned deeply. I'm pretty sure it wasn't that color when I got up this morning. It was a bright, lively blue with specks of white here and there from the clouds. The wind chilled my skin a bit, but it was still a pleasant feeling. Now, the sky swirled with unnatural shades of crimson, black and umber. I felt an overwhelming sense of fretfulness just looking at it, and I wondered just how the sky could look like  _that_. What that a sign of the fucking antichrist or what?

"Why is all of this happening...?" I asked more of myself than to Scape, because I knew I wouldn't receive a reply. There wasn't anywhere that she could write, and the chanced of her getting to speak to me were extremely slim. That actually disappointed me a bit. I wonder what her voice sounds like, if she even had a voice. Maybe that somehow had something to do with that eerie mask she wears? Can she not speak because her mouth was somehow deformed? Was she embarrassed of it, or was it simply for decoration? Or was there simply no mouth there at all?

No, that wasn't possible. Because it's obvious she's capable of being verbal, I've heard it many times but still. I can only speculate. 

I did hear her sharp intake of air and I could pretty much see her nerves going crazy, like she really wanted to answer my question. For a moment, I stupidly actually did think I'd hear her talk but she stopped short in her tracks. I almost collided into her back and knocked us bother down. 

"What is it? What?"

She shushed me obnoxiously and I felt like a bratty child being scolded for a moment. 

"What!?"

" **SSSHHH!!** " 

I shut my mouth, and looked around, pondering just what the fuck she was getting so freaked out about. I was ready to start calling her crazy, because I couldn't hear a thing other than the disturbing crying of innocent people. But I didn't get a chance to chastise her before she roughly grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and yanked me down just in the nick of time as a hail of bullets rained down on us and an army of heavy, stomping footsteps getting closer and closer. I screamed at the sensation of my skin being grazed by these things and I began to panic even more because we were in essentially in an open field; we were sitting ducks. And furthermore, we had nowhere to take cover behind. So we did what we could, we ran. 

Our feet were blustering, and it was extremely difficult because we were hunched over like crazy. These guys were surrounding us!

"FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK--"

A tapering, jarring pain was felt in my left shoulder as I was finally hit with one of the many bullets and yelped. But I tried my best not to let that slow me down, I was something more than human after all, I could handle this. But the pain I felt didn't feel the same is it did with just any regular bullets, and that's how I realized I wasn't hit with just a regular fucking bullet. I don't what it was, but it burned my skin, throbbing and screaming at me it seemed. I began to think that maybe I needed actual medical attention which was just absurd for someone like me! 

"Fuck, they're closing in on us!" 

Finally! We came across a little opening between these vehicles big enough just for the two of us to fit into. From in here, we were somewhat safe from the onslaught of bullets--if that's what they were. I sped up upon seeing it, my face beet red more likely than not, but I almost noticed that Scapegrace's steps were significantly slower, like she was less than a minute away from giving up completely. 

No, you can't give up now! What am I supposed to do without her right now!? I fucking hate her god dammit but I can't have her die now of all times! I'll be completely helpless without her! 

I dared to peek over my shoulder to see two fair sized holes in her overcoat, blood pouring out like a running faucet. Her brows were furrowed and for once she looked like she was in genuine pain. I almost felt bad for her, almost. But I was so caught up in my selfish motives that the only reason I did what I did next was essentially to save my own ass.

I yanked her over my shoulder by her arm and threw her down into the crevice that would shield us from all these fucking Maligns shooting at us. She let out a choked, gurgling sound as her back mashed with the asphalt. I hopped down beside her, making sure to keep myself as low as possible and shielded the top of my head with my scraped up hands, my sword having been carelessly dropped a few inches away. I wasn't sure where Scape's pipe had gone. She must have accidentally dropped it when she was shot! 

I managed to look down at her panting, suffering form and gasped as I noticed she had been hit barely a centimeter away from where her heard would be. Ruby tears pricked at her eyes along with a look that I really couldn't recognize. Fear? I don't know, but whatever it was, it seemed her mortality was finally dawning on her. Like she realized that the possibility of her dying wasn't so slim for the first time. 

Scapegrace is not invincible like I initially thought her to be.


	45. Natural Cause

**Gerard's POV**

Gawking down at the merciless criminal below me, bleed seeping from underneath her mask and from her wounds was surreal. She was breathing shallow breaths, her eyes were half lidded and I could make out the sound of her desperate wheezing. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know if there was anything I could do to save her. It's not that I was all that concerned with weather or not she lived or died, but it was clear to me she wasn't exactly our enemy here. I still hated her, but...

I couldn't bring myself to let her die if I could help it. It's almost like I need her in my life, like I need her to be there to cause mayhem, to bring about some sort of chaos. It's become a daily ritual to see her in the news paper and just hate her guts. It felt like I needed her to be alive so I could hate her. I needed her to live so I could have something familiar remaining in my insane life. I've endured so much change over the years, changes I never liked. I don't know what I will do with myself if Scapegrace exits the building for good.

What the hell is wrong with me, wishing for her to make it through this? I should be happy that she's dying! I should be happy that I no longer have to fear for my brothers or my friends safety! I should be ecstatic that she's laying helplessly on the gravel, suffering so beautifully. But if she dies right now, then I'll be left alone. Hell, I might die as well without her assistance. She's saved my life countless times in the past half hour, and I had a feeling she'd do so plenty more times. That is, if her heart doesn't stop beating in the next few moments.

Dear god, if there is one...please live.

"S-Scape, shit--I--FUCK!" I cursed and stammered, hitting myself in the forehead for being so clueless! Now's not the time to be a fucking imbecile! "Oh god, whatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo...mask, the mask!"

I reached down quickly, grasping at her respirator mask to take it off, maybe that should help! Maybe it'll help her breath better?

Before I had a chance to take it off, Scapegrace smacked my hands away and turned her body away from me. I growled and rolled her back over onto her back. I attempted once again to rip it off of her, but she hissed furiously up at me, this time scratching defensively at my face.

"Hey, I'm trying to help you!" I yelled over the storm of bullets hovering over us. She did something that looked akin to shaking her head and went to sit up. I shoved her back down with my hands and yelled at her to let me help, just let me help her! But of course, she wouldn't allow for my hands to come anywhere near her face. So I did what the only logical solution in my mind was. I climbed on top of her, holding her down with my weight and struggled to get the mask off. At this point, it wasn't just because I was trying to help her. I'll admit it, I wanted to see what kind of deformity she was hiding under that damn thing! And if there was nothing to see, I had to know what her face looked like. It was fair after all, right?

Okay, maybe not but I can be cruel sometimes.

"OW!" despite her depleting strength, the punch she landed to my nose was enough to sent me falling right off of her. I groaned from the hit, and rubbed at the wound tenderly with my hand. "God dammit..."

Scapegrace rolled over once again onto her stomach, and slowly started to sit herself up a bit on her knees. She still stayed low enough so she wouldn't get shot again, and I could still make out her quivering form. It amazed me how she was able to not make a single sound, let alone manage not to shriek at the top of her lungs. If I were her right now, my lungs would have already collapsed.

"What are we gonna do!?" I yelled over the gunshots. Neither of us had time to do anything else before an earth trembling BOOM rattles our frames, and for a few moments the sky was filled with angry flames and snow white ash. My body was shoved against hers, causing for a low groan to escape her lips as I'm sure this didn't help her wounds at all. I yelped in shock at the sudden unexpected movement and tried lifting my weight off of her. I shielded my head with my hands as soaring metallic debris rained from the sky and the bullets had ceased their firing. For a long time, neither of us had the balls to peer over our cover and see just what caused this massive explosion. But eventually, I was the first one to do so. I was very careful in making sure nobody was ready to clock me a new one.

Instead of seeing the circle of Maligns keeping us trapped here, I saw ninety percent of the vehicles in the lot having been completely demolished, even much of the gravel being destroyed. In the enemies place was a slightly smaller group of Benigns scourging the place out, looking for who, I didn't know. 

"Come on!" I grabbed at Scape's shoulder, not bothering with her mask anymore. I was a little scared that if I tried going for that again, she might actually murder me where I stood. And I made a promise to myself that I would at least stay alive long enough to see Winter again. 

I helped her to stand, something which she did surprisingly easily despite how bad a condition she was in. I was prepared to have to carry her over my shoulder. "Let's go!" we both crawled over our cover and started trudging along the totaled vehicles once more. In the near distance, the Benigns gave me relieved looks and I returned said looks. I froze for a brief moment, wondering if they were going to do anything else. But one of them, probably the leader of the group, pointed in the other direction and yelled at me to go. 

I obeyed immediately, dragging Scapegrace behind me the entire time. Soon enough, we had reached the end of the sea of cars, hopping down back onto solid ground. Scape stumbled a bit, almost falling over, but I helped in steadying her, before we were off once more. We were still on campus and I frowned at this, we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere along that ambush. But I wasn't about to go back there, and I wasn't sure Scape was even able to. We I decided we'd just take another way out. 

We were somewhere around the third unit building when something caught my eye, or rather my ears, and I stopped abruptly. Scapegrace came to a halt as well, placing her hands on her knees and panting. I glanced down at her once before she looked back up at me, furrowing her brows as if to ask me why we were stopping. 

We couldn't stay in one place for too long, because I knew we could easily be ambushed again for the third time. But I couldn't help it. 

There was a mirage of terrified wails in the distance, somehow different from the ones we constantly were hearing so far. These screams sounded more...together. And they sounded like kids, almost. They were...they were begging for someone to come save them. Scapegrace seemed to hear them as well. Her brows unfurrowed, she managed to stand straight for the most part again, though she was still a bit hunched over. After a while of just listening to these disturbing noises, Scapegrace's hand came down on my shoulder and I jumped. She pointed in the opposite direction. For a second, I couldn't tell what she was trying to say, but after another few moments I understood. 

She was pointing to the gym. 

"The main gymnasium...that's where we were called before all this shit happened!" 

Without another words, I absentmindedly snatched Scape's hand to make sure she wouldn't fall behind before we were sprinting like professionals. Much to my shock, she actually was able to keep up. Damn, she really is a fucking tank isn't she? 

It hadn't even been two minutes of us sprinting like no tomorrow, the giant building wasn't too far away now. Just a few more seconds and we would have made it no problem! But Scape's hand was suddenly yanked from mine and I spun sharply to see what happened. 

Scape had been pulled away by the throat, a Malign's arm having her in a choke hold. She gagged slightly, and before I knew it, a dagger had been launched right into her chest, barely an inch where her heart was. Her entire body sputtered, another ear splitting cough/choke emitted from her mouth and more blood inched out from her mask. If only she would just take the fucking thing off! 

I shot forward, swiping my blade at the Malign's side and effectively allowing for the vigilante/criminal to escape his hold. She tumbled onto her ground, barely saving herself from the fall with her gloves hands which were already beginning to tear. 

Unfortunately, our brutal attacker didn't react much to my move, so I pulled the blade back out and swiped at his neck. His head rolled off onto the ground, but I nearly threw up when his actual body refused to fall. Instead, it stayed upright and continued to come at me without the presence of its head. I gagged and kept swinging blindly at it, which didn't do much. I got punched a couple times in the stomach before an awful sound akin to someone stomping onto a watermelon came into my ears. The body froze, falling forward onto me without warning! 

"AH!" I promptly shoved it off and backed away, brushing off all the deadly imagined germs off my clothes and yelling incoherently. When I turned back around to see what happened, Scapegrace stood weakly at where the Maligns head had been. Her boot was bloodied to hell, squished bits of brain and rotting flesh stained the sidewalk, and this time, I actually did throw up. Especially after realizing that the dagger that was previously buried in her chest had been puled out and now was being clutched in her hand. 

Fucking tank.

I hunched over to the side and yacked painfully, the feeling of a fist grabbing at my inside almost becoming too much for me to handle. Scape's uneven footsteps came closer to me and I felt her leather covered hands pulling softly at my hair, keeping it away from my face as I retched. Thankfully, my little sick session here didn't last longer than a minute or so before I spit out what was left of it from my mouth and moaned painfully. My mouth tasted fucking awful, and the robust stink of death polluting my lungs didn't help much with my gag reflexes.

Scapegrace reluctantly let go of my flaming red locks. The stringy greasy sections fell back around me, framing my face. Suddenly, my tie felt suffocating. I angrily loosened it from around my neck and threw it to the ground. The next to come off was my black jacket. It was a 200 dollar one that I bought specifically for my job, but I don't think I'll be coming back to work anytime soon, and besides. Wearing felt like carrying around the weight of an entire other person on my back and right now, I just couldn't handle that. 

The vigilante before me stepped back cautiously, unsure of what I was going to do next. She almost seemed afraid of  _me_ , now. I found this to be quite odd, because everyone was always afraid of her. Whatever. I shook my head. I didn't have the brain power to think about it, my lethargic body movements were becoming prominent again. I just wanted to go to sleep, but I can't. 

Slowly rising my head to make eye contact with her, still hunched over, she held up a hand while making the 'okay' symbol with her fingers. She was asking me if I was okay. Pfft. 

"I-I'm fine." I breathed out. "I'm fine." 

The next thing she did was point once more at the main gymnasium behind us, and I was suddenly aware again of all the students in peril possible. We began running towards the building again, determined to save whoever was trapped inside. I hoped and prayed with all my mental strength that nobody would come waylay us again. Thankfully nobody did. 

We made it to the front entrance and started tugging to get it open, but no such luck.

"FUCK!" I cursed at the same time as Scapegrace let out an animalistic snarl. "How the fuck are we gonna get this thing open!? 

Neither of us could see through the glass doors, what with all the red blood covering the glass, hindering our ability to peek inside. Scapegrace refused to give up, kicking once at the glass. When that didn't do anything to help the situation, she backed away a few feet to get a head start before jumping up into the air and drop kicking the glass. It created a small crack in the material, but still not much. At least it was something, though. 

After a minute, I realized I should probably help her out. How else were we going to get in there? So I began kicking incessantly at the glass, too. My toes were on the verge of breaking after only a few tries, so I switched to the other foot. The cracks in the glass were growing like spider webs, and I even began using my sword to try and crack it even further. 

"Almost there," I muttered to myself before letting out a piercing cry and delivering another blow to the door. My big toe cracked on impact, I screamed in agony and stumbled away slightly. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I broke that thing! And what's worse, is I could feel Scapegrace scrutinizing me, judging me, silently making fun of my predicament. 

"You shut up!" I yelled despite her not actually saying anything. She only responded by shaking her head and kicking again. I used my annoyance at her for mocking me as fuel for my next kick, which successfully went right through the glass. Shards of it went flying everywhere along the tiled floors inside. I whooped in victory as the rest of our job was a bit easier now. The glass came imploding on itself within minutes and soon, we were able to carefully climb through the locked door. 

I cursed out in frustration a couple times, and from behind me I heard Scapegrace hiss in pain as we were both nicked along the arms and legs from the uneven jagged spikes. A few drops of blood slid to the ground, but we ignored it in favor of our now current task. 

The floors were covered something tinted a brownish-yellow color, making it extremely hard to run along. I slipped a couple of times, almost flattening my face in the process, and even my silent companion wasn't immune to losing her balance every once in a while. What made it worse, was the horrible chorale of screams that never allowed for me to think. I couldn't hear my own breathing or my own thoughts, it was like my own personal hell. I had to cover my ears with my hands in order to try and block it, but even that didn't do much!

"This way!" I called as I heard Scapegrace running behind me, both of us heading out into the main area were I've attended many school events. Sports games, pep rallies, and other assemblies. I could have cried just thinking about how horrible of a condition it must have been by now. I could only imagine just what type of hell was put through it, or just what type of hell the people trapped in here were going through. Now I wasn't sure if I wanted to go through with entering this place, but I had no choice. I didn't just break my big toe for nothing. And besides, I can't just walk by this place without at least trying to save the students inside. Some of them could be, and probably  _are_  my students.

Before we could make it to the main area, the screams suddenly died down, and what sounded like a monstrous rumble coming from the underbelly of Cthulu himself could be heard. It vibrated in my chest, making me go dizzy for a split second. 

I paused, unsure of myself just as I was about to open the door. Now I didn't know if I wanted to or not. For all I know, this could be a trap set my the Maligns to lure us in and kill us off like moths to a flame. They know we'll do whatever it takes to help the helpless;to save the innocent. But they also think we are gullible, and I can't really disagree with them there. My chest was throbbing while thinking these thoughts, and I could tell Scapegrace was having just as hard of a time trying to make her mind as I was. 

On one hand, there is a small, slim chance that we might be able to save these kids. On the, they could already be dead and so will we not long after discovering this heart wrenching truth. Things were unbearably silent. And I hated when silence became the main focus. I never knew what to do with myself. Do I stand here awkwardly and just wait? Do I perform a little dance number? 

"Scape," I whispered. She averted her cold gaze towards me at the sound of my shaking voice. With my hands still pressed against the door, I asked in a hushed tone. "What do we do...?"

Her eyes looked ahead at the door, then back at me, then down at her hands. Something was going on in that brain of hers. I can tell.

"What if Winter is in there?" 

She immediately shook her head, like she was telling me I was being stupid for even thinking such a thing. For some reason which I couldn't comprehend, I believed her. She admitted that she was indeed the monster everyone thought she was. But she also said she would never lie. Although that is definitely something a liar would say, I couldn't understand why I believed her so when I had every reason to doubt everything she did. 

I didn't want to wait anymore. I just wanted to do. 

If we die, we die. If we live, we live. 

So with that, I pushed open the doors, and just like that my nose was attacked with an efficacious stench of fresh blood, rotting flesh and what smelled like the carcass of a pig locked in a hot car for days. It made my eyes water. Scapegrace wiped at her face, smearing the blood staining her skin and getting white/black paint on her fingertips. 

I dared to open my eyes, and thank god I already vomited before hand otherwise I would have done it again. But I could still feel the dry heaves inching their way from the pit of my stomach to the top of my throat. 

Bodies...bodies everywhere. 

And blood. 

There was so much blood. I could have bathed in it. 

The original colors of the brown floors or the white walls were non existent. The ground, and all the bleachers were being concealed by the massive genocidal pile of corpses. Each one of them lacerated and maimed in their own way. No one corpse was fully intact. Detached limbs, hanging eyes, internal organs and intestines decorating the place. Many cold dead eyes were seemingly staring at us, pleading with us, asking us why we didn't save them...I dropped to my knees, further staining my trousers and palms of my hands. Scapegrace tentatively stepped forward, the edge of her foot making slight contact with a torso. Just the torso. Just a torso. No other body parts, no head, no limbs, nothing...

"We were..." I couldn't barely bring myself to speak. But I did anyway. "We were too late..."

What made this all the more hellish was that many faces that were still recognizable, I could recognize. I remembered seeing those faces coming into my classroom each day, asking me questions and smiling at me from across the school halls. Now many of them were torn in half, eye sockets empty like my stomach. 

This wasn't real. This couldn't be real. There's no way this is real! 

_But it was._

From my peripheral, I saw Scapegrace's hands start to shake even harder than they were before. Her knees were ready to give in, and I was ready to spring up and catch her before she fell. But instead of falling, she did something else. 

She let out an ear piercing, blood curdling wail or distress, agony, frustration, and fury all in one. It was the scream of someone who knew they had nothing left to live for. It was the scream of someone who knew they had failed. 

In the middle of this scream, Scapegrace started kicking ruthlessly at the wall beside her as if it had done her wrong. As if it was the one responsible for this scene of genocide. She didn't stop there, though. She started throwing punches, she started digging her hands into the holes she made and ripping out chunks of the drywall. I was surprised her mask didn't come flying off her head, what with all her erratic, sporadic, and twitchy movements. It was inhuman. 

For a moment, here, she completely lost it. Cracks and cringe worthy pops came from her bones, suggesting she was breaking a few of them. But this didn't do anything to calm her in her blind rage. But I wasn't afraid of her this time around. I wasn't cowering in terror at the sight, because this just wasn't scary. When she lost it like this, it was sad. Unlike when she was a silent predator in the night who would slit your throat with the most stoic, blank stares in the world. This was something that could easily break your heart. And I wondered if this marked the official breaking point for Scapegrace. I wondered if she would give up, now. I wondered if she had any reason to keep going despite the fact that so many people are losing their lives. 

"Scape," I whimpered, half heartedly trying to get her attention. She completely ignored me, and only continued breaking her fists against the walls, screaming hysterically. "S-Scape!" I tried again. Still nothing. 

*BANG*

I recoiled at the sound towards the front of the gymnasium and I instantly shot up to go investigate, sword at the ready. When I reached the front doors which we broke through in order to get in, there was a wall of bloodthirsty Maligns, chomping their jaws in the air and growling at me like wolves. I didn't dare try and attack them on my own, so I backed away slowly, not making any sudden movements. It was then I noticed a match in one of the Malign's hands, that's when I realized what the yellow substance on the floor was. 

Before I could protest, the Malign dropped the lit match very casually, shooting me a smirk as he did so. I think I'm gonna be sick. 

"SCAPE!" I shrieked vehemently at her, and that's what finally got her attention. She looked behind me as I ran toward her and into the mountains of cadavers. The heat was instant and I could already feel it burning my skin, my bare flesh. Fuck! I shouldn't have taken that coat off! "WE HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER WAY OUT, THERE ARE MALIGNS KEEPING US TRAPPED AT THE FRONT!" 

That, and the wild inferno would surely keep us away as well. Scapegrace yelped and stumbled as she tried running. Her face nearly collided with a pile of dismembered flesh and bones, but I kept her from doing so with my sore hands. We slowly made our way up to the bleachers as the flames started spreading quickly like a virus. It was practically chasing us down, and I screamed, terrified of being burned alive! Dying, I was okay with. But I didn't want to go out like this, not like this! 

I kicked away a body so I had a place to stand on the bleachers and even then, I had to balance on top of them as did my silent companion. As soon as our feet landed on all these once living people, we turned to see the entire place engulfed in what I was certain, was literal hell. It was hell all around us, making me sweat already though I felt like I've barely moved. This...

This is how we die.


	46. Wicked Ones

**Gerard's POV**

We were standing in the center of Hell's living room. Dead bodies and torturous flames slowly growing thicker, licking at our feet. Begging for us to jump and let ourselves be swallowed by chthonic inferno. My vision was going hazy, and I found myself coughing and struggling to keep breathing. I'm sure my lungs were as black as mold by now. I was a little envious of Scapegrace and that damn mask of hers! I bet she's not having any respiratory problems right now!

Suddenly, I felt my sword being yanked out of my hand, cutting open a small gap into my skin. I winced very slightly, but it was nothing compared to the pain I was feeling in my chest and in my throat. I didn't bother trying to fight Scapegrace when she stole my weapon. I was so busy trying to remain conscious when I heard the sound of glass caving in and shattering behind me. By now, I was on my hands and knees, which were beginning to turn a fleshy, rose color. But I couldn't move! I couldn't stand and I couldn't breath! This is how I die. This wasn't how I wanted to go out! Getting burned alive, roasting like a dead pig, this was not how I ever imagined leaving this world. I wanted to die with dignity! I wanted people to remember me! I wanted to accomplish something before I allowed myself to be killed! I wanted one last moment with my best friend, with Frankie. I wanted to tell my baby brother that I loved him once more! I wanted to let him know that no matter what, I'd always love him! But most of all, I wanted to say goodbye to the only girl I've ever fallen in love with. My one and only little Snowflake. The girl who gave me a purpose, the girl who made me feel like I was so much more than just an art teacher that everyone will eventually forget about. She made me feel loved, god dammit! Love! Something I never got a chance to experience before her!

But I'd never get that moment, and everything is slowly going black. I don't think I can hold on much longer.

Scapegrace bent down and grabbed my shoulders roughly, forcing me to stand. I doubled over and almost fell, nearly dragging her down with me. I never made contact with the burning ground, and for a moment I thought it was because I'd lost all sense of feeling. Maybe my nerves had been burned to badly that I simply could not feel anything touching me. But no, it was because she'd caught me before anything bad happened.

My weight had been lifted off, my feet no longer planted on the ground. The upper half of my body was hanging limply, my face nearly right up against the small of Scape's back. I think I accidentally touched her ass a few times.

She was carrying me over her shoulder as she jumped up into the air and suddenly, we were flying. Wind was brushing through my hair, the colder temperature soothing my searing skin. I sighed with relief at the feeling, Scape's feet landing with a loud thud against the concrete ground. She knelt down and dropped me back onto the floor, I groaned slightly at the pressure on my back and worked hard in clearing my obscured vision. When I could finally make out the clear shape of Scape's face hovering over me, I was once again made fully aware of the burning on my hands. I lifted and examined them closely at the bubbling flesh resembling that of boiling water. They were trembling awfully, and I had a feeling this would leave some permanent scars.

"F-Fuck!" I cried, a few tears daring to show their face. I didn't get a chance to take a breather before Scape was shaking my shoulder and pointing towards a nearby exit off campus. I shook my head, not wanting to move, but she wouldn't stop shaking me. I slowly rolled over onto my side and tried lifting my body up, but when I so much as touched the asphalt, my hands just got worse and I screamed in pain.

Scapegrace's gloved hands were assisting me in standing and making sure I didn't faint. When I turned around, I understood why she was in such a hurry to get out of here. That same wall of Maligns that were barricading us in that hell hole were coming back for us, intending to kill. I grit my teeth and bit back the tears of agony, once again following Scapegrace out into the void.

Finally, fucking finally, we were off campus. But what we found outside was not much better than what we were dealing with before. If I thought the Academy was bad, then the city outside was on a whole other level.

Most of the buildings were set ablaze much like the one we just escaped. Roaring flames burst from the tip of skyscrapers, dancing madly in the sky. Many of those buildings were knocked down, dust and rubble killing hundreds of people, bodies flying out the window...it was a perfect recreation of the tragedy of September 11th, 2001. It brought me back to when I witnessed all those people jumping out of the windows, people who would have rather fallen to their death than burned to a crisp.

But once again I didn't have time to process what I was seeing. Scapegrace latched onto my arm, trying to get me to follow her. Between all the innocent humans being mauled by the Maligns and the Benigns trying to defend them, it was just too much for me! But now that I was out, now that I was alive, my coughing having subsided sever moments ago I had another priority in mind. I didn't want to be near this monster for another second. We both helped each other out, saved each others lives and escaped Hastings Academy. But now, I was back to hating her fucking guts. I wanted, I needed to find Winter before something happened! Who knows, maybe one of the Maligns have already gotten to her.

All I know is, I need to find her,  _now_.

A sharp tug on my arm prevented me from taking another step and I growled. "Get the fuck off of me!"

**_*Hisssss*_ **

"GET OFF!" I screeched, and shoved at her face hoping that would do the trick. But instead, she just pulled even harder, almost making me fall flat on my face. I tried kicking heavily at her shins to knock her down. Didn't she understand? I don't need her to fucking escort me anymore! We are done! We are through! We've got no use for each other!!

"I NEED TO FIND WINTER!" I screamed directly into her face. She didn't even so much as blink before grabbing my hand and twisting it, causing for my burn to react horribly. I screamed at the top of my lungs and tried using my other one to hit her, but that only made it worse. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!? I DON'T NEED YOU ANYMORE! GO DIE!"

Her boot practically crushed my shin instead, making me go falling to my knees. I hiss at her just like she's been doing to me. I fucking lost it when she threw me over her shoulder again like I was a rag doll! I slammed my fists down into the small of her back. She arched under my hit, but still didn't drop me. I did it again, this time, harder and she jeered. Her hands released my legs and I collapsed behind her, her hands going over the spot where I had hit her. I got up, then turned around and threw her over my shoulder instead. I then slammed her back down like a professional wrestler, making her groan but not much else. She kicked at my face and I staggered away. This gave her ample time to jump back up and brandish the sword she fucking stole from me!

"GIVE THAT BACK!"

In response to my cold demand, she swung it at me as a warning, not actually making contact with my skin. This didn't stop me one bit. I tackled her again, my head pressing up against her right below her breasts. I lifted her off the ground and brought her back down onto the hood of a car. In return, she rammed the handle of the sword into me, and I heard a distinct cracking sound. Great, another fucking broken bone! I'm just infested with those things! It's a wonder I'm still able to fucking walk!

"FUCKING LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Another blind swing, but this time, the blade grazed my throat. It wasn't enough to do any real damage, just enough for it to release a few drops of blood and piss me off even more. I grabbed the weapon right by the blade, making my burns even worse. They were screaming at me to let go, and the pain of them combined with the sharp weapon cutting into my flesh was unbearable. But sometimes when I'm angry enough, pain doesn't bother me. In fact, sometimes it fuels me, riles me up even further. This little cunt needed to be taught a lesson, she needed to die!

It was a tug-o-war match between us, my grasp on the blade tightening every passing second and her vexed hisses growing louder. I smirked at her struggling face, and suddenly, I had a familiar urge.

I finally let go of the sword and leaped on top of her once again, going right for her mask again. Her eyes went wide at this and she turned her head away. It was like she was somehow terrified of even the idea of losing her mask. This only increased my want to destroy that, destroy that mask. Steal away her identity, make her suffer just as she'd made me the past few months.

She pushed the sword at my face and I stumbled back. She rolled off of the hood of the car and took a second to gather her bearings before I came at her again. Instead of tackling her, I clenched my fist bashed it point blank in her eye. I could almost already see the deep purple and blue bruising beginning to form, her ruby eyes growing bloodshot and starting to water as well. She dropped the sword, I punched her again in the throat. Many more of my hits were thrown at her and much to my dismay, she never fell. Not once. I went to deliver a final, finishing kick, but she caught my foot with her small hand and shoved me away. I fell onto my back and dove for the sword she had dropped. This time, instead of trying to destroy her with my fists, I tried to destroy her with the medieval weapon. I could tell that she was seriously considering the idea of just turning and running away from me, especially when I raised it high above my head and released a wail that sounded like a wild hyena. But she, despite wanting to flee, continued to skillfully dodge each swing and jab at her chest. I was moving very quickly, as well. Any normal person would already be covered in bleeding holes and coughing up vital fluid. I got off on the idea of making her choke on her own blood. Oh what a sight that would be!

I didn't get a chance to make my morbid fantasies a reality, because suddenly, everything just stopped and got much worse. Scapegrace's wide eyes switched over to something behind me, somehow looking even more fearful. My face fell from my previous sadistic smile, and I slowly lowered the weapon while turning around to see what had her to freaked out.

I wish I hadn't.

Behind me was a pair of two people. A man and a woman.

The man was tall, very tall, almost rivaling that of Slender Man. His hair was black and neatly slicked back like a proper prince. Sapphire blue eyes scrutinizing his surroundings, skin paper white, clothes black as ink. His boots were even bigger than Scapegrace's. His gait all the more intimidating because of it. With every step he took, the ground underneath him cracked, despite him not even trying. His eyes were glowing like they never have before. His little whisper of a smile planted an already sprouting seed of dread into my stomach. He was so far away, but still way too close for comfort.

The woman walking alongside him was a bit shorter in height, but not by much. She was still probably taller than even me. Her hair was much brighter; bleach blonde and done in a tight single bun at the back of her head. A few of her locks coming down to frame her heart shaped face. It looked exactly how Winter's did when I first met her, but this woman didn't make it look elegant and alluring. She made it look menacing, deadly, forbidding. Her skin was the same shade of white, making her look like a vampire. Eyes a much colder, less neon shade of blue. They looked dead and empty. But at the same time, full of rage...the eyes of a true sadist.

Her entire frame was skinny, bones nearly protruding out of her stretched, veiny skin. She was walking in the same manner as, presumably, her lover. They both held that same look of savagery, one I never thought I'd ever see. There were so many words I could use to describe these bloodthirsty monsters. But the one that popped into my head first was simply: evil.

There before us was the King and Queen. The bringers of the apocalypse. The destroyers of innocence. The creators of chaos. The true devils.

Scapegrace was no longer the threat I was worried about. I could no longer describe her as the monster everyone thinks she is. No. That noble titled did not belong to her. It belonged to the rulers of pandemonium. If we thought this country was anarchic before, then we didn't know what we were talking about. Things were crazy, yes. But with the King and Queen now in sight...I now realize just how wrong I was. 

Just being in their presence was enough to make my head throb. I could feel their iniquitous aura seeping into my skin, making me have the urge to crumble to my knees. To bow down to them, not out of respect, but out of fear. Fear that if I didn't, they tear me apart with just one of their cold, icy gazes. 

I managed to wrench my eyes away from then and turned to see Scapegrace shakily bringing herself back to her feet. I could tell she was feeling exactly the same way as I was feeling. 

The King and Queen were back, and they were more powerful than ever. 

We needed to leave.

Now.

Without another thought, Scapegrace grabbed my still burning hand and began sprinting as far away from those beasts as possible. This time, I was simply too paralyzed with terror to protest. My feet were sore as all hell, but I didn't let that hinder me. We raced past abandoned vehicles, more dead bodies, disintegrating towers and heinous murders still taking place. We even passed dozens of Maligns bowing in the presence of those fucking  _demons._  

How anybody, even a Malign, could bow down to them was beyond me. But by now, I've learned not to question the game. Just play it.

Because questioning things now could get everyone killed. 

I wasn't sure how long Scapegrace planned on running away until something had to be done. But soon, Scapegrace turned a corner and consequently, so did I. Though the King and Queen weren't after us specifically just yet, I think both of us knew they would demolish anything and everyone in their sight. At least, everything besides their little pawns helping in this fit of destruction. I don't know what would have happened to us had be decided to stay for a second longer. 

The next thing I knew, Scapegrace's harsh tugging against my hand got harder, and we turned yet another corner towards a little cafe. But not just any cafe. It was Cafe Grumpy. Winter and I's Cafe. 

My heart ached, thinking about her again. And for a second, I almost forgot about our own impending doom slowly making their way closer and closer. She crashed through the glass doors, taking me with her and finally let go of my hand. But I still didn't stray away from her. Once again, I felt like I was depending on her as we both dove behind the front counter, shielding our ears from the screams of the damned.


	47. I Wanna Be Your Mirror

**Gerard's POV**

_"I-I think I left m-my wa-"_

_"Here."_

_"Alrighty, miss, I'll have that black coffee ready for you in a moment here."_

_"Th-thank you, You didn't have to do that."_

_"I know, but I wanted to."_

_"Let me at least pay you back,"_

_"Don't worry about it, honey."_

_"You've bought me coffee for the past week and a half, let me at least-"_

_"Winter, It's my pleasure, don't worry about paying me back. Besides, it's just five dollars."_

_"You over paid."_

_"I know I did."_

_"Well, thank you again."_

_"You're welcome, sweetie."_

_\-----_

_"Forgive me for being so...inappropriate... I promise, I won't ever do anything like that again.... Unless, you want me to that is.....Do you want me to?"_

\-----

_"Well, what d'ya say we try things out and see where we go?"_

_"I think I'd like that."_

\-----

_"I missed you all day."_

_"I missed you too, Sir~...Gee, are you okay?"_

_"D-Don't worry, I'm fine! H-How was your day, Sugar?"_

\-----

_"Oh god, what are you doing to me, Sugar..."_

_"Do you w-want me to stop?"_

_"No, but what I want doesn't matter. The question is, do you want me to stop?"_

_"But you haven't done anything."_

_"No, but if you give me the go-ahead, that's about to change real quick."_

\-----

_"You're so fucking beautiful, you know...I could look at you like this all night-bent over and so- ...vulnerable."_

_"Oh god-S-Sir!"_

\-----

_"Where did you get those?"_

_"From my other lover. I've been sleeping with the art teacher from the other school; I'm sorry I really didn't mean for you to find out this way."_

_"Oh, so you're sleeping with a seventy year old woman, now?"_

_"Shut it!"_

\-----

_"I thought it was time for a change in me, too."_

_"Sweet! I' always wanted to fuck a redhead!"_

\-----

_"Winter, baby, we have to get up."_

_"No..."_

_"Winter, honey, come on."_

_"Gerard you cunt! Get off!"_

_"Finally, you're awake!_

_"You're a dick!"_

_"I'm your dick~"_

_"Don't touch me!"_

\-----

_"Still thinking about Scape?"_

_"How could I not? It's gotta be her. And..."_

_"And what?"_

_"And what if she comes after you?"_

_"That won't happen."_

_"How could you know that?"_

_"You're right._

_I don't know that for sure, but even on the off chance that she does, I'm not just some fragile glass doll. Okay? I might not look like I can, but I do know a few ways to defend myself. I'm not completely defenseless."_

\-----

Being alone in this cafe, hiding behind the counter with Scapegrace brought back so many memories. Memories I looked back on that weren't even that old yet. It was truly phenomenal how I could get so attached to one person all in the span of just six months. It didn't make any sense. But I didn't want it to make sense. Sometimes that's what makes something beautiful. 

I wanted Winter. I wanted my little Snowflake back...and it hurt me inside to know that anything could have happened to her. I didn't know if she had been killed by all the madness going on outside, or if she was laying face down in an alleyway somewhere, slowly dying. Or worse...one of those Malign fuckers got a hold of her, and was doing unspeakable acts with her. I didn't want to think about it...but I had to admit to myself that it was a possibility. I didn't know where she was. 

Under all the pressure, I began to cry. I haven't barely seen her in so long, I missed her! Even before this apocalypse on New York came down upon us, she was disappearing left and right. She claimed that she was working on a project with Brandon, but then she'd be gone well into the night. Wouldn't return until the early hours of the morning...I caught glimpses of dark bruises lining her arms and legs, cuts and scratched decorating her flesh. I never mentioned it because they didn't seem all that bad. But now that I was looking back on it, I should have said something. I should have done something, anything. I couldn't help but think that her disappearance and possible death was somehow my fault. The thought of it alone was putting more and more weight on my already sore shoulders. 

I just want things to go back to normal, now. I haven't gotten a chance to dwell on it, since every five minutes it seems I've had a near death experience. Almost being stabbed to death, gunned down and burned alive all in the span of one hour. I missed what now felt like the good old days, even though they weren't that long ago. It feels like its been years since Winter and I have even slept in the same bed together. I missed the feeling of her hair pressed against the bottom of my chin, he little waist being cradled by my larger hands. I missed reminding her every ten minutes that I loved her. I missed watching her and Mikey's little shenanigans, I missed when I had to wake her up early each morning, and finding more creative ways to do so. I missed when she would playfully call me a cunt, but then kiss me right afterwards. I missed the wrestling matches her, Mikey, and I would have together. I missed when I would lay my head in her lap and just listen to her talk about her first love, or sing a lyric or two she'd come up with. Or that time where I was lucky enough to hear a song she'd written about Naomi herself. 

The feeling of burying my cheek against her bosom, nuzzling my nose into the crook of her neck, leaving little love bites and hickey's for all to see. Kissing those soft lips of hers, tasting her, being addicted to her...or the feeling of making love to her. The sounds of her keening, whining and moaning underneath me when I'd let my hands explore her body, doing whatever they liked to her. The sight of her splayed out beneath me, spread wide open and begging for me to give her what she wanted, what she needed. The sensation of her body trembling with ecstasy, all because of me. I could never get enough of it, I don't think any man or woman could. And I was one of the luckiest souls in the world to be able to have her physically, emotionally, and spiritually. 

I swear to fucking god, that woman could make me feel things I never thought I was capable of feeling. Whenever I was alone and I tried to recreate the euphoria and pleasure she gave to me, it would never work. It was no use even trying anymore, because it was nothing compared to her. So I didn't even bother. Nobody could replicate those feelings. 

So many nights since she began leaving every day, I'd lay alone in my bed hugging myself and pretending my arms were hers. I'd sing and pretend my voice was hers, I'd stroke the hairs atop my head and pretend my hands were hers. I'm pretty sure Mikey and even Frank were well aware of the way I would get myself off to the thought of her alone. And then I'd burst into tears afterwards, because I needed her more than anything else. I missed her terrible, I felt so fucking empty without her. I would give anything in the world to just hold her hand one last time. Even if it was her cold, dead hand. It would still be her hand. If it was covered in blood, if she was missing a finger or two, if it was no longer attached to her body. It would still be her hand. 

Maybe I'm a bit obsessed with her, maybe what I feel for her could be considered deranged. Maybe my connection with her was unhealthy. Maybe everybody else in the world would look down on our relationship for many reasons. Maybe people just thought I wanted her so I could fuck her. But I. Don't. Care. 

What she and I have is real. If it wasn't, I wouldn't treat her as if she's a part of my fucked up little family. I wouldn't have given her a key to our apartment and insisted she come over whenever she wanted. I wouldn't have taken her out on a real date to prove to her that she deserved something so much more than a trip to Cafe Grumpy and secret lip locks behind the school, or quick, rough sessions in the classroom on top of my desk that sent us both reeling and aching for more. 

_Winter, please, please...come back to me. I don't know how much more of this I can take._

I felt a hand softly placing itself on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Scapegrace staring at me almost quizzically. Her eyebrows were kitted together, and there was an emotion in her eyes for once. An emotion other than rage. An emotion other than indifference. It almost made me believe she had some humanity left in her. 

"W-What?" I asked, sniffling and wiping at my eyes. My red tears were getting all over my hands, but I didn't care. 

The vigilante/criminal before me reached out and with steady hands, wiped at my tears, gathering some of the liquid with her fingers and examining it for a moment before reaching over to write something along the counter for me. I waited for a few long moments as she wrote with my tears with careful, nimble fingers. When she was finished, she sat back on her knees in the darkness and looked up at me through her long eyelashes. Those eyelashes, eyelashes I hadn't noticed before. They were long, very long, almost like spider legs, and dare I say quite beautiful. They almost reminded me of Winter's eyelashes. Long, elegant, graceful. Just another one of many factors that made me fall in love with her and everything about her. 

" **WE CAN'T STAY FOR LONG** "

I sniffled again and nodded, agreeing with her. But I didn't wanna leave. It seemed so safe in here, even though it was just as prone to falling apart as any other place in this now god forsaken city. It was quiet, and dark. I wanted to stay in here forever, being held by the darkness. It was so comforting to me. Why would I leave this place? 

"I...." I whimpered and buried myself into my knees. My body racked with sobs, and I felt broken. Leaving, and going back out there was the last thing I wanted to do. "I can't move." I sobbed. I heard a shaky sigh from Scapegrace. It was true. If I so much as moved my arms, I would surely fall apart. 

Scapegrace tapped my shoulder again, and I reluctantly looked back up to see she'd written another response on the counter, this time with the blood still coming from her gunshot wound. Wonder how she's able to cope with that kind of pain. 

" **WE HAVE TO GET BACK OUT THERE** "

I sniveled again and cried a bit louder. Another sigh from the vigilante, and her hand was back on my shoulder. In truth, I wanted to say I didn't want it there, because the thought of her being my source of comfort was disgusting in theory. But I couldn't explain it...her touch felt so familiar, and I found myself leaning into it. It was almost a replacement for what, or who I couldn't have. I felt sick to my stomach just thinking those words, because nobody could ever replace my little Snowflake. 

This made me cry even harder, and soon my head was up against her chest. I don't know what the fuck was wrong with me to make me cuddle up against someone I hated. But god dammit, Winter wasn't here! Neither was Frank, and neither was Mikey! I didn't know where any of them were, they all could be rotting corpses by now. So it seems this is the best I'll get right now...

"I want her so fucking bad...!" I sobbed through clenched teeth. I tried to keep myself together, but it was for naught. "I don't know what to do anymore! I-I can't think straight! My mind will only allow me to think about her! Sh-She could be f-fucking dead! I don't wanna believe it, I don't want it to be true b-but it might! And I don't want it to be! *sniff* I need her more than ever right now! I can't take it anymore! And the worst part is I have no fucking idea if she really is dead! Do you know how torturous it is to feel this way!? She's the love of my fucking life! I don't know what would have happened if we'd never met! I don't want to imagine a life without her, because a life without her is a life not worth living!" 

Scapegrace's hand cautiously patted my head as if she didn't know what to do with a sobbing, wailing man currently burying himself against her chest. It was a little bony, but her bosom was still soft and comfortable just like Winters. I held onto her even tighter, pretending like it was her, pretending that she was singing to me with that heavenly voice. I couldn't tell if it made it better or if it made it worse that her body felt just like hers. 

I heard and I felt a low groan that bordered on that of a growl, before her body tensed up significantly. I got the feeling she was preparing herself to do something she'd never considered doing in the past. I managed to calm myself down a little. and I very reluctantly pulled myself away from her, staring at her curiously. Her eyes were shut tight and after a few minutes of nothing, she turned her body away from me, sitting cross legged and keeping her gaze glued to the ground. Now I had to know what was going on with her. Why was she reacting so strangely to me crying? Was it that, or was it something else entirely? 

"S-Scape," I muttered. I needed her to hold me again, though she was barely doing so a minute ago. It was the only comfort I could get at this time. I needed her hand to touch my head again, I needed to lay my cheek upon her chest and I just wanted to be held. Her body felt so familiar, it didn't matter that I hated her fucking guts. I didn't hate her touch. I just wish I could  _really_  feel it, because with those thick leather gloves on, it didn't feel like a person holding me. 

Scapegrace continued to stare down at nothing but the ground, almost like she was pretending that I wasn't here. My curiosity went wild and I scooted her closer, despite that I sensed she didn't want me to. I also could sense that she didn't intend to hurt me again. I mean, I kind of got that feeling before hand, what with her constantly saving my life and all...

"Scapegrace...." I whispered. And suddenly, I wanted something else to call her, because Scapegrace was obviously not her birth name. It couldn't be...maybe her real name was Grace? Maybe that's where the alias derived from? 

Her hand went up to her face, and I thought she was just going to rub her eyes or scratch her cheek. Although she was turned away from me, and her short white hair prevented me from seeing what was happening, but...her hand started shifting behind her white satin curtains. I furrowed my eyebrows, still not understanding.

"What are you..." I began, but my eyes widened drastically once I realized what was happening. My voice trailed off and didn't bother coming back around as I watched her provisionally removing her mask. She turned her head to the other side, so I couldn't see her face still. But her mask was no longer on her head. It was sat on the ground inches away from my thigh. I never thought she'd willingly remove that disguise without me having to force her...not that I was going to try again, I figured it would just be a moot point. But now, it was off. My heart beat violently against my rib cage and I swallowed thickly. 

This was the moment of truth. 

"Wh-Who are you...?" 

She sighed, but without that mask, I could make it out very clearly and now she sounded like a person. A real person, and not an emotionless, stoic statue that was made only to kill. I scooted even closer, desperate to see what her face looked like. I froze just as I was about to move her hair out of the way. She slowly peeled the gloves off, and then shrugged off her long duster to reveal a simple, form fitting short sleeved black shirt. It was a bit difficult to see the details of her exposed arms since it was so dark. 

Scapegrace, or...whoever this woman was lifted her head up and ran her hands through her snowy locks. I caught a view of her profile, but once again, I still couldn't make out any of the details. 

Without another sound, she turned head to look me right in the eye, some sections of her hair still falling around her face, but she looked up at me, still covered in white paint and red blood. I couldn't recognize her eyes right away, but I recognized the rest of her, and my breath hitched, my heart skipping a beat. 

"Oh my fucking god..." 

It wasn't her, but it was. She was so difference, but she was the same. 

It couldn't be, but it was...

Winter.


	48. Howl

**Gerard's POV**

Everything about her was so different. I almost had to do a double take because she didn't look like the same innocent, skittish little Asian girl six months ago. Or even two weeks ago. Her eyes, now red instead of brown, no longer held that virtuous gleam to them. Her facial expressions seemed less artless, way less naive. Her face now held an air of toughness, something I never thought I'd see her look like. Her hair was quite the opposite of what it was before. Before, it was vibrant, colorful, bright. Going from ink black to electric blue; it was a nice change and ultimately, it made me fall for her more. It fit her perfectly, but now her hair had been stripped of all its color. It wasn't even blonde, it was just  _white_. Porcelain white, almost looking like someone had painted it. 

Obviously I knew what her hair color was before hand. Scapegrace didn't seem to care about me seeing what her hair looked like. And now I could see why. 

But seeing it on someone who I only ever viewed as naive and innocent, in a way it almost felt like betrayal. And what's more, was the blood and white paint caked onto her face. She looked like she'd taken so many lives in the past few hours and once again, it made my head hurt to just think about it. But the thing different about her that really took me off guard, was the jet black tattoo ingrained into the side of her neck, much like the scorpion that Frank had. Only, hers was a spider. A fairly large one, about the same size of my hand, maybe a little smaller. Everything about her was unrecognizable, and I was shocked I even recognized her at all. Because she clearly was not the same person. 

"Y-You...wha--I...n-no...it can't be..." I stuttered and stammered, scooting myself further away from her this time. My whole world had just come crashing down around me, everything I thought I knew was suddenly crumbling. My head ached, my eyes watered, my body trembled. I always knew, or at least I thought I knew something this  _preposterous_ couldn't possibly be true. In fact I denied this possibility so much, I even thought Mikey was dumbed down when he suggested it. But now I was seeing it with my own eyes, and I didn't want to anymore. 

I should be happy, I should be  _so_  happy that she's here with me, but those feelings were muddled by ones of betrayal. I couldn't fathom it, the fact that she would keep doing what she's been doing with me around, letting me believe she was in danger, that she was even  _dead_! 

And the fact that I insisted on hating her so passionately, so vehemently...and the entire time I was hating the love of my life...

My heart dropped even further when I continued elaborating on all these despicable thoughts, because now I know that the insane monster I was hating so much, the monster I wanted to hurt so badly was Winter. I fucking _shot_ her. I hurt her physically in so many ways, and now I had to live with the guilt that that was her the entire time! That criminal who saved my life when the King attacked me at the academy, who took a boys head off with just her bare hands, who expertly executed more than 20 Maligns at one time,  _all by herself_. The one who carried me over her shoulder out of a burning building, the one who I tried murdering with that sword...I didn't even want to imagine what would have happened had I decided to go through with that. Would I have just left her body there and never known that it was Winter who I had killed, or would I have taken the mask off her myself after doing the deed, and then having to live with that tremendous guilt for the rest of time?

So many questions, many of them having answers I hated. 

Scapegrace--er--Winter didn't do or say anything. She didn't try and get closer to me, she didn't try and comfort me, she didn't even have a look on her face that showed anything other than disinterest. I couldn't decide if that pissed me off, or made me want to kill myself. 

I couldn't decide anything right at this moment, because my whole world felt like a fucking lie. 

"You...you were Scapegrace the entire time..." 

Her eyes darted up to meet mine, and my body went cold. They weren't the same warm eyes I was used to. They were cold and menacing, and completely, irrevocably unfamiliar. Everything about her felt so unfamiliar, now. 

"You've been gone for weeks...you let me believe something had happened to you. You've been lying to me this entire time. Y-You pretended to be human..."

She said nothing. 

I grit my teeth in anger and suddenly sprang up to my feet, towering over her. She only gazed back up at me with that same distant, aloof gleam that Scapegrace always had. I hated that fucking look. 

"WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU BEEN LYING ABOUT, HUH!? WAS I JUST ANOTHER PART OF YOUR BIG, GRAND PLAN!? HUH!?!? WAS WHAT WE HAD JUST NOTHING TO YOU!? IF YOU'VE BEEN LYING TO ME ABOUT THIS, THEN WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU BEEN LYING ABOUT!? DID YOU NOT MEAN IT WHEN YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME!? WERE ALL THOSE TIMES WE'VE MADE LOVE MEANINGLESS TO YOU!?

Winter stood up as well, rolling her eyes and growling under her breath. "Do not make this into something it's not." she said calmly, quite the opposite of what I was feeling. 

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL KNOWING THE LOVE OF MY LIFE HAS BEEN GOING BEHIND MY BACK AND KILLING PEOPLE, THEN COMING OVER AND PRETENDING TO BE THIS INNOCENT LITTLE SPECTACLE!?"

"I wasn't killing people. I was killing  _Dracs_!"

"YOU MADE ME THINK YOU WERE DEAD! YOU TALKED ABOUT YOURSELF LIKE YOU WERE A DIFFERENT PERSON!"

"Would you quit with your senseless screaming? You're not helping anything."

"YOU LET ME HURT YOU!" This time, my shouts weren't angry in the slightest. In fact, it was less of a shout and more of a sob. Because though I felt utterly betrayed and mislead, the fact that I've made her bleed, the fact that I hurt her at all in anyway was what made this revelation all the more painful. I fell back down onto my knees, chest heaving, exhausted. I hadn't screamed for that long, but it was still long enough to tucker me out. Now all I could do was hold myself and cry like a small child. But even through all this, I still craved her touch. It didn't matter that I felt angry with her. "You lied to me...you lied to all of us...!" 

She sighed again and crouched down in front of me, and I slowly gathered the courage to meet her gaze. I found it no longer was emotionless and cold. It was still a little aloof, but her eyebrows were slightly knit together and her pouting lips were down turned into a frown. 

"Please just say something..." I begged. 

For a long time, she didn't comply to my request. Her cold red eyes bore against me and I felt uneasy under her stare. I couldn't bring myself to believe that those eyes could ever belong to her. And it just begged the question, were those pretty brown orbs real in the first place? Or were those just another fabrication from her? Were these always the real thing? 

"You weren't meant to find out the truth. In fact, I wasn't expecting to ever see you again. At least not alive."

"W-What? What are you t-trying to say!?" 

"I left to fight. I left with Arachnophobia and I agreed to fight alongside with him against the Dracs, or what you call Maligns. You weren't ever supposed to find out about this. But I couldn't just watch you cry like that and not do something..."

S-So, d-do you still love me?" I sniffled pathetically. I had to know. I had to know that this was the only thing she lied to us about. I had to know that what we have is real. 

"Gerard, of fucking course I love you. That's one of the many reasons I agreed to fight. I wanted to make sure your life, and Mikey's life, and Frank's life, and the life of everyone else innocent wasn't destroyed by what Damian and Valerie plan to do. I can't stand the thought of you becoming another one of their slaves, forever doomed to be a little fuck toy for them. I don't want you living that kind of life."

"A-And...were you ever going to tell me you were a Hell Spawn, like me?" 

She shook her head. "Honestly, no." 

At least she was honest. At least she wasn't pulling the "Yes, I was going to tell you eventually" bullshit. 

"I didn't say anything because I wanted to protect myself, my mother, all my friends...to protect you. Had I told anybody, any of you, who knows what would have happened. They would have killed me, they all would have come for me and I know it looks like I'm invincible at times but they would have all killed me. And...and they would have all gone after everyone I love. Gerard, I understand completely that you feel betrayed. I won't try and convince you not to be angry with me. You have every right. All I ask is that you try and understand where I'm coming from. I can not have you wind up like Naomi, I do not want to lose you the same way I lost her."

At the mention of Naomi, and losing me like her, tears began to well in my eyes and asked her in a broken, croaking, hoarse voice. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Naomi wasn't killed by a mugger. She was killed by a Drac. The same one who would later rise to the throne."

"S-So...The King?" 

"Precisely." 

"Damian..."

I stared down at her boots, which made her seem much taller than she really was. And then my gaze started slowly traveling back up her torn to shreds jeans and her shirt which was slowly becoming more and more torn as well. There was a hold in the side from where I shot her, and it was only now I noticed all the scars littering her body. Not just self harm scars from when she was younger. But battle scars, scars I had over looked. Bruises, cuts, and scratches. Much worse than they have ever been. I shakily reached up to her one of many gunshot wounds, the one I had inflicted upon her. Her bleeding wound was getting onto my fingers, but I didn't care. 

I did this to her. 

"Gerard," she whispered. I finally looked back up to make eye contact with her. It wasn't the same and it was before. And I had to say, I missed her warm, sweet brown orbs. But this, this I knew was real. This I knew was really her. And for that, I loved them just as much. Though they looked demonic and frightening from a distance, that's not how I saw them. They weren't so naive anymore. They looked like the eyes of a warrior. In fact, I looked at her now in a whole new light. 

Before, she was skittish beyond belief. She couldn't hold eye contact with anyone and she seemed supremely defenseless. But now, she was none of those things. 

Of course I loved her the way she was. But now my respect for her had skyrocketed. She is not a damsel in distress. It was clear she didn't need a knight in shining armor to save her. It was quite the opposite, actually. She saved  _me_. She was strong enough to carry me out of a burning building despite having an extremely petite frame. She was strong enough to continue fighting despite all these gun wrenching wounds that no other human would be able to handle. Now, I could truly see her for what she really was. I could see her true colors. And they were so much more beautiful than the ones she showed me before. 

Not only did I have the up most respect for her now, but my love for her felt like it was only growing stronger. That lingering stench of betrayal was still there, but now it was being drowned out by all these new sensations. I couldn't even focus on how she lied to me for all these months. I couldn't focus on any of that. 

"You're fucking crazy." I whispered back. "I love you!" 

And with that, I pounced on her, taking her into my arms and holding onto her as she lay flat on her back, me on top. I didn't waste a single second. I smashed my lips onto her, kissing her, tasting her desperately and I moaned because it felt so good to have her with me again after all these weeks. It felt incredible to have her in my arms once again. I got my wish. 

"I love you, I love you so fucking much!" I half cried, half shouted as I continued pressing my lips against hers, never letting her get a word out. Her beautifully scarred hands grabbed onto my neck and pulled me in closer. I could taste the metallic blood getting onto my lips but I couldn't fucking care less. It felt so amazing to finally have her back after so long. I never wanted to let her go! 

"Gerard...!" She keened in between our brutal lip lock. "Gerard, I love you!" 

After several moments of us just kissing passionately and exploring each others mouths, our frantic movements died down. I was still laying on top of her, straddling her while her fingers tangled themselves into my hair. I leaned my forehead against hers and sighed in content. I never wanted this moment to end. 

It wasn't perfect, not by any means. We were both bruised and battered, covered in blood. There was a full on war going on outside. We were both badly wounded, and the burns on my hands weren't going anywhere anytime soon. But now, I felt at peace. I felt like I could truly fight now, I could fight alongside with her. And I would. 

"We need to get back out there." she whispered up at me, softly stroking the red hair away from my face. I nodded slowly, dipping myself down to catch her mouth with mine one final time. This one was the one that lasted the longest. It was soft, it was tender. It was the best one, and once again I never wanted it to end. I just got her back, and I intend to cherish this moment for as long as I live. 

Eventually, I lifted myself off her body, taking her with me. I bent down and handed the once feared respirator mask to her. She took it cautiously, stealing a glance towards the glass doors. Things seemed to be getting worse with each second we hid in the confines of this long since forgotten cafe. She was right. We couldn't stay in here for long. 

What caught my attention was a distant buzzing in the background, slowly creeping closer and closer to our location. We both looked up at the ceiling as if it would somehow hold the answers. 

Helicopters. 

"Let's go." 

Winter put her mask back on, but this time I could easily recognize the face underneath. I grabbed her hand, happy to have it back with me. We gave each other one last warm glance before making our way back into the chaotic mess outside. 

I was right. Things have gotten worse since we've been in here. So much worse. There weren't just Maligns/Dracs killing humans left and right. But there were helicopters hovering over the city, dropping what looked to be good sized silver cylinders. As soon as the first several cylinders hit the ground, a dense, dark crimson smoke erupted like a volcano. It was still a good distance away from us, but they were dropping the smoke bombs every which way. It wouldn't be long until they hit us as well. 

"HELP US PLEASE!!!" 

We turned our bodies all around, seeing humans beginning to suffocate and bleed out of every orifice they had. Other Benigns seemed to be fine, so this must be something made to only effect the humans. They were being killed off at an alarming rate, and we were powerless to stop it. What failures we are...

From my peripheral, Winter was beginning to take her mask off, but I stopped it with my own hand. 

"Keep it on." I commanded. She gazed up at me with twinkling eyes. But she obeyed, bringing her hands away from her face. Before I could do anything else, Winter gave my shoulder a nudge and I turned my attention to see a group of three kids around fifteen or sixteen years old. Maybe a little younger. No words needed to be spoken as we bounded towards them. As we ran towards them, tackling them and bringing them into another small abandoned shop, we noticed another figure had joined us, shielding these kids from the deadly fog coming their way. From inside this abandoned shop, we were temporarily safe from the smoke, it barricaded us in almost, pressing its face up against the glass making it impossible to see past it. 

The kids had collapsed onto their knees, coughing violently, tears spilling from their eyes. I bent down in front of them, trying to make sure they hadn't suffered too much damage.

"Demetri!?" 

I looked up to see Winter had moved her mask to rest under her chin, and I noticed the figure in front of us holding a face of relief and concern all mixed into one. Winter bounded toward him without another word, engulfing him in a tight bone crushing hug. He was taken aback for a moment before he quickly held her back, his nose sniffling her hair. Okay then...

"God, I thought you were dead!" she yelled. 

"I thought  _you_  were dead!" Demetri, the Benign Bratland twin told her. They pulled away from one another quickly, and Winter took my hand. 

"Gerard, Demetri. Demetri, Gerard." she introduced us. I shook his large, warm hand. I had to crane my neck to look him in the face. He was very tall, just as tall as his fuck head of a brother. Easily several inches past six foot, he admittedly made me feel very small and insignificant. I'm just glad he decided to go a different path than his brother. 

"Hey," I said quickly. Demetri stepped past us, standing in front of the three kids and kneeling in front of them. The one who had recovered glanced up at him quizzically, and he smiled warmly at them. For a moment I wondered what he was about to do, until he pulled something out from the holster on his thigh and shot the kids all down in just three pulls of the trigger. Winter screamed aloud and I stumbled back, wondering just the the fuck made him do something like that.

"SPIEGEL, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" 

Demetri stood back up and faced us, with glowing blue eyes. I guess I was wrong, he didn't take the opposite path from his brother. 

"Nothing is wrong with me, Sweetheart~" 

"Oh my fucking god..." she mumbled frighteningly, slowly backing away with me until we were both pressed against the back wall. "Damian..."

"What?" I half whispered, never taking my eyes off of him. 

"That is not Demetri."

"What!?" 

That could only mean one thing.

This was the King. 

"You've got that right, Honey." he smiled a mock sweet smile at mainly Winter. Her wide, ruby eyes narrowed in disgust and she slowly brought her mask back up into its rightful place over her mouth and nose. Turning her back in the heartless vigilante I once feared. Wordlessly, Damian, The King, lifted his hand and aimed a gun at us. It wasn't a regular gun, that much I could tell. I'm not even sure if it was a gun. All I knew was that it was clear and transparent, shimmering with light pink and blue reflections that moved and danced with whatever light may be in the room. "See you in another life--"

*CRASH*

"HOLY FUCK!!" 

She had jumped across the counter in front of us, using her arms as little propellers to get her across in the blink of an eye. She smashed right into him, knocking him over and making the gun he had go flying off in another direction. She straddled his hips and started throwing punch after punch, meanwhile, I was smart enough to make a desperate dive for that gun, or whatever the hell it was. I reached out for it, noting that it felt exactly like a regular firearm. Maybe even a little lighter. Before I could do anything with it, I yelled out loud as Winter had been thrown off of Damian, crashing harshly back against the wall we were up against. Her body went limp instantly, her eyes closing against their free will.

I looked back at the King and gulped thickly.  

Looks like I'll be in for the fight of my life.


	49. The Wolf

**Gerard's POV**

With the pull of a trigger, a transparent, almost invisible bullet came rocketing out towards The King. I cursed myself, as it buzzed right past his head, missing him entirely. My heart dropped at the realization that I am on my own now. Before, I almost completely depended on Scapegrace to get me out of a tight situation that would have ended in my demise. But now that I know Scapegrace is Winter, I feel the roles have been switched. It's no longer her job to keep me alive. It's now my job to keep her alive. It's my job to keep her safe, make sure no harm comes her way. 

I made an oath to myself months ago when I first started to know her, that I would never let a thing hurt her. And I won't let any other emotion of mine get in the way of that. No matter if she betrays me, or if I feel any kind of resentment towards her. I will see to it that nobody, including myself, hurts her. 

I went to pull the trigger again, determined to keep this promise for as long as I live. But against my will, the firearm was ripped out of my hands by an invisible force. A force much stronger than I'll ever be. It went flying out a window to the side, seeming to disappear entirely. I gasped, but didn't let this hinder me one bit. I did the first thing that came to mind. I disregarded the firearm and instead sprinted forward, over the counter similar to how Winter did it. I crashed myself against Damian, tackling him to the ground and immediately going in for the neck. He headbutt me very suddenly, and much to my dismay, he managed to speedily turn the tables once more. Now, I was pinned against the ground, back already aching and the color draining from my face. 

It was a terror inducing sight, Damian crawling on top of me and wrapping his hands around my neck. Not allowing me to breath. My air quickly ran out and I pawed angrily at his hands and face and eyes, which were glowing unnaturally, seemingly having a mind of their own. Just by looking into them, one could feel their energy draining from their soul. It makes you want to submit to him, to beg for your life. 

I used to think the color blue was a very beautiful color. In fact, it used to be my favorite of all time. Especially after Winter had dyed her hair that same shade. But now I'm glad she decided to strip her hair of all its color. Because now I couldn't stand it. Never. Not after looking into those bright, demonic atrocities. They made my blood boil, and the hateful churning waters within me start to overflow. I pawed at his face, my nails attempting to gouge his eyes out. He yelled out angrily at this, temporarily blinding him, giving me just enough time to knock him off of me. I got up to my feet and readied myself for another brutal attack, when my whole body was thrown away. 

I went soaring out through the glass doors, glass slicing into my back, and crash landing all the way on the other side of the street. Any other normal person would have been killed instantly. I could practically feel my insides sploshing around, my bones wanting to implode on themselves. And what's worse, is I couldn't see a damn thing. The helicopters were starting to slowly disappear, but the dark red smoke wasn't.

I quickly rose to my feet, knowing Damian could come back out and destroy me any moment. I'm defenseless right now. But at least this way the fight will be away from an unconscious Winter. 

But now I couldn't see a fucking thing. I took to trying to waft the smoke away from my face, clearing a path for me to walk through. But it was as taxing as chewing on pearls. I coughed a bit and had to shield my eyes from it at times, despite it not being toxic to me at all. I eventually got used to breathing this shit in, just in time to catch a small glimpse of the tall Slender Man knock-off coming at me with a knife. It looked like just a regular knife, and I braced myself, knowing it wouldn't kill me like it would kill a human. 

He plunged it right into my chest, several inches away from my heart, then yanked it back out. 

"AHH!" 

Though I knew I wouldn't die, being stabbed in the damn chest still hurt like a motherfucker! 

Before I could comprehend or try and fight back, Damian propelled himself over the hood of a truck and landed a kick with both feet straight to my abdomen. Once again, I flew like a bird through the red smoke infested air. I managed to catch myself just in the nick of time before I landed most unceremoniously. I got back onto my sore feet, finding that I had been thrown into another small cafe like area, though this place was so dilapidated and demolished that I couldn't even tell anymore. What was once a sign was now a blank, crumbling wall of filthy concrete. 

I wasn't stupid, though. I knew this wasn't the full extent of The King's attacks. So I grit my teeth and launched myself off to the side before Damian had the chance to ram into me, knocking the breath out of my lungs. 

"Oh fuck!" I cursed and began running away, not knowing what else to do. Once again, I was left unarmed, and I would be a fool to try and attack him when I knew full well he was much superior than me in more ways than one. Just one wrong move and I won't have a head anymore. 

If Damian had telekinesis, then there's no telling what other supernatural abilities he holds. For all I know, he could be able to summon vicious hell hounds out of thin air. 

God I hoped he wasn't able to summon vicious hell hounds out of thin air. 

"Get over here and fight me like a man!" Damian called out wickedly from behind. 

I didn't want to continue running like this forever, but at the same time, if I decided to turn around I might get vaporized with just one look from those demonic orbs. So I kept running, hoping and praying for something or someone to help me out here. I know for certain that I can't do this on my own. 

It seems someone has heard my prayers, for in the near distance was a corpse holding what looked to be a very used katana sword, but it was still something. It was rusted a bit, definitely not in top notch condition, but I would take what I could get. So I crouched down slightly, grabbing it as I ran and hearing The King chuckle at my desperate attempts. Although I was willing to bet he didn't anticipate me turning around suddenly and swinging ferociously at his face. Which is what I did. He ducked down, yelling out in surprise in contempt from my sudden action and it was then I noticed he held in his hand what looked to be some sort of machete. The same one he stabbed me with. 

Our forms twist and contorted as I tried desperately to keep his weapon from cutting into me. Which was more taxing than one would think. Damian was more powerful than ever, and I had a strong feeling he was somehow holding back. His movements sometimes were so fast, my eyes couldn't process it. He was the fucking Albert Wesker of Dracs, often times when he dodged my attacks, it looked like someone was fast forwarding him. It didn't make any sense, but I didn't take the time to question it. I just persevered, undaunted and determined to win this fight. Or at least keep fighting until my lungs gave out. One thing was for fucking sure, I would not go down without any scars. 

"You're even more pathetic than your Batman wannabe little lover!" he taunted as I ducked under him, swiping my blade at his throat. 

"That little wannabe Batman managed to take out 20 Dracs at a time after taking two gunshot wounds to the chest! I'd hardly call that pathetic!" I spat back. Damian only let out a "TCH!" in response, knowing I had stumped him. I then spun around quickly on my toes like some sort of ballerina, swiftly grabbing the machete by the blade and making my burns act up a lot more. But I flipped the weapon into the air, catching it by the handle and pointing both of them at his face. I saw his eyes widen at my quick turn of the tables and leap away. I was expecting for him to use that strange telekinesis ability, but judging from his reaction I figured that power must be quite limited. 

I sneered at this and jumped forward menacingly, jabbing each blade one at a time, watching in amusement as he struggled to avoid them both without getting cut. This went on for a while, and I felt like I was poking a bear. Or aggressively tapping my fingers upon an animals cage to antagonize them. It was almost adorable, the way his face went red with fury, being dominated by someone of lesser power than him. Oh, what a sight! I could just feel myself beginning to lose it again, and I had to keep myself from doubling over in insane laughter. 

"You fucking--GAH!" I cut off Damian with another sudden jab, nearly hitting his eye. 

I didn't get much of a chance to enjoy my temporary victory when he jumped up into the air in a back flip, his heavy boots bashing into the bottom of my chin. I'm surprised my face didn't gave in from just that hit alone! A strangled cry crawled up my throat and before I could comprehend, his feet then rammed back into my chest, knocking me back. The sheer force of it made me drop my weapons without him even having to do anything!

My back made good friends with the scratchy asphalt and I wheezed horribly. But I couldn't stay down for long. 

His mind powers made another comeback, this time, worse than before. Instead of simply just ripping objects away from my hands, the ground came up, concrete, asphalt and rubble seeming to erupt in a debris volcano. I didn't know what would happen if I let it all catch up to me. Would I be torn to millions of shreds, or would I simply be skyrocketed into the air and some crashing back down? Either way, I didn't exactly fancy finding the answer to that question. So I ran once more. I lost count of all the minutes I ran for. All I knew was that sweat poured down my face and soaked through all my clothes. My legs ached and soon began to feel stiff. But I kept running anyways. 

Eventually I made it so that Damian was behind by several meters. Guess I was a pretty fast runner. 

I didn't feel like sprinting for an eternity, so I took the first opportunity I could find to hop up and scale a building. I used all my upper body strength to skillfully climb the side of a four story apartment building overlooking a small, deserted alleyway where a few corpses lay unrecognizable. I ignored them as best I could and dropped myself onto the roof. 

It was quiet up here save for the constantly flaring bitumen. But for now, I was safe. For now, he didn't know where I was. 

Of course I didn't want to hide up here like a coward forever. So I quickly scourged the area, hoping to find something--anything that I could use against him. 

Luckily, god was on my side today. There was a few dead bodied scattered across the roof in which I stood. I dove forward on my knees and checked the nearest one for anything I could put to use. The first one didn't have anything except for a tiny little switchblade, which I doubt would be of much help, especially against an all powerful, almost deity like entity such as The King. I pocketed it anyway, and went on to searth the second corpse. 

"Aha!" I exclaimed to myself when I pried a still loaded pistol from his head hands. And it wasn't just any pistol, no. It looked like an exact replica of the one Damian tried to shoot us with before. I was shocked to find it was much colder than a typical firearm, but it felt right. It felt natural to hold it in my hands the way I did. It seemed like it would be a hell of a lot more easier to handle than a normal pistol anyway. 

I scrambled over to the edge of the roof, darting my eyes every which way, searching for The King. That wasn't too difficult of a task. All I had to do was look slightly past the erupting asphalt. 

Car horns blared obnoxiously as they too had been effected by Damian's plan of attack. I spotted him a few meters away from where I hid. I held the gun up with both hands and aimed carefully. I didn't know how many bullets were in this thing, so I wanted to make sure I made every shot count. 

After a few seconds, I had my target locked. And I pulled the trigger. I was aiming for the head, but I missed slightly, so instead I ended up penetrating the side of his neck. His mind powers stopped rather abruptly, and things quieted significantly as he fell to his knees, holding his bleeding wound. But now I knew for sure that he knew where I was. So for the umpteenth time, I took to dashing away. 

I hopped all across the building roofs, making incredibly far leaps and landing gracefully no my feet. I wonder if this is something Scapegrace did every night she went hunting for Dracs. Because it made me feel on top of the world. 

The entire time I ran, he never ceased in throwing whatever he saw my way. Whether it was more pieces from the now demolished road, full on vehicles, or shards of razor sharp glass. He was throwing everything at me and I was lucky enough to be able to dodge most of it while making a clean getaway. Or at least trying to. 

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE FUCKING SCOUNDREL!" 

I chuckled under my breath at his anger, but my smile faded as soon as I noticed that the jump I had taken would not go exactly to plan. 

It was a bit too far apart in between building roofs, even for me. I tried reaching my hands out, clawing at the surface and I managed to hold on to the side, my body hanging loosely about. But that also didn't last for long, as a hail of debris attacked me, making me loose my grip and come falling back down into an alleyway I was hanging over. And furthermore, Damian was right on my trail. He had me cornered in this alleyway, I didn't have anywhere else to go, and I wasn't about to try and run past him. So I raised the gun and shot at him again, but this time I didn't hit him anywhere. 

He grunted a few times, but every time I pulled the trigger, he would move off to the side quite unnaturally. Very similar to what he was doing earlier when we tried impaling one another with our blades. Wonder what happened to those...

I couldn't get at him. Even when I was at point blank range, he managed to avoid the deadly bullets with seemingly no effort on his part. Soon, I had no more room to back away from him and I had a feeling my ammunition was running quite low. He now had the upper hand again as he maneuvered past all my attacks, landing an unanticipated uppercut.

I cried out and hobbled back as he grabbed me mercilessly by the neck and slamming me against the wall. Just like I did to those punk ass kids who used to fuck with Winter every other day; make her cry. 

"Agh-*gasp*" I couldn't get any words out as his grip tautened on my throat, nearly crushing it. My legs flailed wildly, attempting to kick at him. But I was growing weaker by the second, blackness slowly starting to invade my vision like a deadly thick fog. For a minute, I didn't think I'd make it out of this situation, and I saw his bright eyes glowing again, making the hairs on my arms stand on end. 

"HUNNGH!" Damian groaned as I had managed to knee him straight in the crotch; a low blow even for me. But it worked, didn't it? 

I then swiftly brought my fist across his face, blood already starting to drip from his nostrils. He stumbled back just like I did a few seconds ago, and I then shot him in the chest. This time, he was too taken off guard to try and dodge my attacks. 

Now that I'm thinking about it, I could have just shot him from the beginning....hm.

Damian then did something I wasn't expecting. He turned to the side and jumped atop the building just like I tried to do moments before falling. I shot at him a few times, managing to nick him in the boots but that ultimately didn't do much to help my cause. He eventually disappeared, and I was left by myself, the thick red fog slowly starting to retreat and dissipate into nothingness. When I exited the alley (since I felt like a sitting duck in there) I noticed that everything that was once alive was now dead and withering. Every human that had been screaming for help was deceased and I could do nothing to stop it. 

All these people. Dead. 

I hope it's not like this throughout the rest of the city...

"HAAAAAAAAAAA--" 

My voice grew shrill without my consent as I was thrown up again, this time crashing through multiple walls and desks and eventually roughly landing somewhere near the center of a large, corporate office building. I laid there, dormant on the ground for a few moments before I found my breath and shakily rose up to my feet. 

"Fuck." 

Everybody in here looked to be just as dead as everywhere else I've seen so far. It was sad almost, looking at a place that was once bustling with busy workers and lively employees. Now it was as forsaken as a ghost town. I can't believe we weren't strong enough to stop their apocalypse.

*sniffle* 

"What the fuck..." 

I heard someone sniffling and pleading desperately to themselves, praying and and begging to be saved. I knew it had to be a human because no Hell Spawn would think to partake in something as pointless as prayer. So everyone's not dead after all. 

"Hello?" I called out, weary of Damian's reappearance. But I had been projected a good three or four miles through the air before I landed in here. I figured I had at least another few moments of peace before I was thrown right back into the chaotic mess of that fight. "Hello?" I called out again. I heard that same sniffling and turned a corner to find a man curled up in a fetal position against the wall of a cubicle. I looked both ways, making sure there were no oncoming threats, before I crouched down in front of the man and patted his head lightly, hoping he knew I wouldn't hurt him. He flinched under my touch and I sighed. 

"Come on, we have to get you out of here. You can't be in here forever." 

The man shakily looked up at me, eyes overflowing with wild tears and I knew he was struggling to keep it together. Though he wasn't doing a very good job, I couldn't fault him for it. If I were in his position, I'd be shitting my pants ten times over. 

"Come on, it's okay. I won't hurt you." I cooed softly, hoping that would be enough to coax him out. He eventually nodded his head and allowed me to escort him out of the building. Once again, I wasn't sure when Damian would show his face again, so I made sure I was very aware of my surroundings. I wasn't about to let another human's life be taken by that filthy fucking excuse for  a ruler. 

"Go on, run! Run as far away from here as you can! Get in a car and just run!" I commanded after shoving the transparent weapon into his hands. I couldn't escort him all the way out of the city, but I knew if I sent him out there with no form of self defense, then he would die for sure. At least now, he had a chance of survival. 

He did as I said, running off into the distance and soon disappeared from my line of sight. I sighed and turned back around, only to be met with a blade attempting to pierce my abdomen. I cursed and cried out, just barely managing to evade it before I realized Damian had reappeared, angrier than ever. His pupils were no longer visible through his churning sea of blue and his mouth held two long rows of jagged shark teeth. 

Oh fuck.

"I'LL DESTROY YOU AND ALL DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU LOVE." he seethed. 

*WHAM* 

...

"YOU LITTLE CUNT!!" 

"WINTER!?" 

There stood Winter, clad in her signature red mask and still bleeding from her side. Drops of blood could be seen from the side of her face and she panted profusely. She held a shotgun similar to the one she had just an hour before I was dragged into all of this mess. I wasn't sure if it was fully loaded or not, either way, she stood over him after plowing it straight into the side of his skull with it. He held the side of his face, for a moment unable to move his jawbone. I backed away from him, afraid of what he was going to do next. Meanwhile, Winter/Scapegrace looked done with all of his shit. Like all of her pent up anger had been released all in the form of complete and total indifference. 

With relaxed yet sharp movements, she brought the gun up to a proper holding position and aimed right at him. Her eyes were half lidded and for a moment, I myself was afraid of what she'd end up doing. 

She pulled the trigger without another thought. And though it still didn't kill him, he still recoiled and twisted unnaturally from down on the ground as his entire side was now caked in red stuff. He screamed out into the air, furious and pained all in one. 

What was next? 

With one free hand, Winter moved her mask below her lips so she could speak clearly. Her doing this was still so foreign to me. I wasn't sure if I'd ever get used to it. 

"You disgust me." after spitting on the ground, spittle landing on his face, she continued on with one last degrading word. "Pig." 

And with one final kick to his side where she had shot him, he screeched with the fury of a thousand pissed off men. His scream was powerful enough to make both Winter and I cover our ears, because his voice reached deep into our skulls and scratched incessantly at our brains. It was rattling and it was the worst thing I've ever had the displeasure of hearing. It was enough to send both Winter and I stumbling away, almost getting knocked on our asses. 

"I disgust you...!?" Damian spoke after finally letting up with that god awful scream. "I DISGUST YOU!?!? HOW FUCKING FUNNY!!"

A low, rumbling, distant growling in the distance caught both of our attention as Damian stood back up, glaring daggers at us both. Winter raised her shotgun at him again. 

"GET DOWN!" she commanded, but of course he didn't listen. But right now, I wasn't all too concerned with Damian. Something was coming our way, and I knew it couldn't have been anything good. 

"Winter..."

"NOW!" 

"Winter!" 

"WHAT!?" 

"Get over here..." I deadpanned. "Right now." I could feel the alpha within me resurfacing. I don't like using this tone of voice on her. The last time I used it was when the Benign Bratland twin saved our lives and she wouldn't listen to me. I realize I might sound like a disappointed and irritated father at times, but I'll do anything to keep my Snowflake safe. Even if that means raising my voice at her a bit. It usually worked most of the time. 

"Gerard--" her voice trailed off abruptly as the distant rumbling grew louder, very faint footsteps from around the corner getting dauntingly closer. My heart was flailing around in my chest and I held out my hand for Winter to take, just so I could have her by my side. 

"Winter, now please!" I demanded. She slowly lowered her weapon and turned ever so slowly to see what was behind her. At the moment, there wasn't much to see. But we both knew that would change in the blink of an eye, "WINTER!" 

I resorted to just stepping over and snatching her wrist into mine, yanking her back into my side. All the while, Damian sported this sadistic, nasty smile on his face that told me he had something else planned this entire time. I gulped back down a thick knot and felt Winter tense under my hold. I could tell she was itching for me to let go of her so she could senselessly go for The King's neck. But I didn't plan on letting her out of my grip for a long time.

"You two have desecrated me for far too long. Soon you'll learn how to respect your king." 

Winter lost her cool for a moment and spat viciously at his feet. "This enough respect for you, cunt!?" 

"Winter!" I yanked her arm again, tears nearly beginning to rear their heads. I struggled for a bit in getting Winter to follow along with me while she was trying to get at Damian's head, but eventually we were both madly dashing away from the scene. In the back of my mind, I knew running wouldn't do much good. But between Winter mindlessly shooting, or at least trying to shoot her gun at him, the thumping ground and chest shaking growls, I couldn't come up with anything else to go. 

We were about halfway down a city block when a large animals body came crashing through one of the buildings, ramming right into the both of us and causing for us to separate. I felt Winter's gloved hand swiftly slip out of mine and I panicked momentarily as I witnessed what looked like a wolf snapping its blood soaked teeth at her. It snarled and yapped at her, and when she tried shooting it in the face, it only provoked it even further. It used its mouth to jerk the weapon away from her, devouring it in the process. 

Of course, no normal wolf would have been able to do such a thing. But this wolf's body was much larger than it should have been. It had to have been at least five times a normal wolfs size. It's paws were just shy of being the size of my head, in fact it had about the same body mass as an adult elephant. 

Its fur was a dark and almost tattered looking dark gray, bordering on black. Its eyes were even darker, gleaming brightly in the dimming sunlight and pitch black. No pupil, no iris, no nothing. Just complete and total blackness. Looking into its eyes felt like staring straight into an endless abyss. But I wasn't the one who had to look into them.

\-----

**Winter's POV**

Staring into the eyes of this beast was like staring into a void, black vortex. Just looking at them made me feel empty inside, and the fact that it was snarling and hissing at me, fresh blood dripping from its teeth made this all the more worse. 

I knew I was strong, but I wasn't stupid enough to test my luck with this thing. Whatever  _this thing_  was. It wasn't a wolf and if it was, it was some sort of fucked up biological or even demonic mutation of one. I didn't know the full extent of its capabilities, but I'm sure it could easily tear my body to shreds like a paper shredder. If I were being completely honest with myself, I wasn't sure I could even last in a five minutes match with this thing. I didn't really want to test that, but I knew I had no choice. I knew Damian summoned this thing for a reason, and that reason was to destroy us. 

"Winter..." Gerard stood a few feet behind the wolf as it glared menacingly at me. His arm was extended out, not sure what to do with himself. "Winter, don't move." he said with a very quiet voice so as not to startle this beast. I stood my ground just like he said with eyes taking up half my face. I didn't want to stay in this spot forever because sooner or later, this thing will attack. And then I'm fucked. But I'm also afraid that if I start running, it will catch up to me without even trying and I'll be fucked either way. It's a lose-lose situation. 

I gulped thickly and tested the waters, taking a single step backwards despite Gerard's warning glances. He mouthed angry commands at me, but against my better judgment, I disobeyed. 

With slow, cautious movements, I readjusted myself so I was in a crouching position. While I did this, the wolf reeled itself back into that familiar stance of a dog about to pounce. I gulped again and readied myself for what I was about to try next. From my peripheral, I could see Gerard's eyes bulging from his skull, and I knew he wanted to scream at me for going against his orders. For putting myself in danger. I know how he is. But I'm not just going to stand there forever and wait for its teeth to rip into my flesh. 

"Get her, Erebus." 

Damian's words were the only thing holding this beast back from attacking. The second Erebus's name left The King's lips, it leaped at me, more than ready to bite down onto my skull. I knew something like this would happen within the next few moments, and that's why I got myself into a crouching position. I propelled myself up into the air, jumping easily six feet, my feet momentarily hanging over the wolfs head. 

It missed me, luckily, and I landed effortlessly on my feet. The wolf, Erebus quickly did a one-eighty and eyed me dangerously before coming right for me again. While this was happening, I witnessed Gerard being tackled from the side just as he was about to join the fight. I blocked out his irate screams and instead focused on not getting chomped in half. 

Instead of trying to jump over the animal again, I wasted no time in hopping across all the abandoned vehicles and pulling myself eventually up onto the roof of a building. I hopped over the ledge, never daring to look back as I ducked to keep this thing from trampling over me like I was an ant. I wanted to run forward and try to land at least a few good punches, but I was terrified of the mere idea of this thing easily separating my limbs from their sockets. I knew that just one wrong move would get me killed, and the only thing I could do was run. 

I jumped back over the ledge, this time landing on the solid ground and zig zagging between obstacles, ducking and rolling under different vehicles and hoping I was doing a good job so far of evading this thing. I could hear its pounding footsteps nearing and for a moment I freaked as I was unarmed, my shotgun having been eaten by the wolf with just one single bite. 

"WINTER!!" 

Gerard cried out to me, seeing me in distress and dangerously close to becoming food. I wanted to so badly, but I couldn't even steal a glance his way. I couldn't risk it slowing me down. 

"WINTER!!" 

I heard my name being called again, but this time it wasn't Gerard in the middle of being choked by Damian. No, in fact it was another voice that I didn't think I would hear again. For, I didn't know if he had been killed in all this madness. I hadn't seen him for hours, so the chances of that happening were very high. But he wasn't dead, he was still alive and kicking. And if it weren't for this massive titan trying to eat me, I would have enraptured him in a bone crushing embrace. 

"CATCH!"

I instinctively reached both my hands out into the air, prepared to grab onto whatever Demetri was about to throw me. From the side, I caught sight of him tossing me what looked to be a fully loaded sub-machine gun. An E. sub-machine gun, meaning if I played my cards right, I now had a chance of defeating the wolf. 

I caught it like it was a baseball and rolled off to the side, slightly catching this thing off guard and started shooting instantly. I didn't know how much ammunition was in this thing, so I did my best not to waste even a single bullet. 

A majority of the bullets his the animal's side, making it yelp but never slowing it down. I grunted and cursed at this and started backing away while still continuing to hold down the trigger. Splashes of blood emanated from its otherwise solid colored fur, but it never ceased in its hyperactive bounds toward me. Soon enough, I found myself being cornered against a falling apart, dilapidated brick wall. I was readying myself to roll off into another direction to narrowly escape death for the third time. That was, until I spotted Gerard from up above, wielding a five foot long rapier and aiming right above the wolfs skull. 

The wolf, I'm sure, wasn't expecting for anyone else to come leaping over it, landing somewhere a few feet up from the bridge of its nose. Gerard brought the blade down into one of its eyes, causing its head to go haywire. It shook violently from side to side, Gerard using the rapier embedded into its socket as leverage to keep holding on. But I knew he wouldn't be able to hold on forever. So I took to shooting it again, although it was a bit difficult to avoid hitting Gerard since the beast was thrashing so wildly! I let out barbarous war cries while I shot at it, eventually running out of bullets. For a moment, I wondered just where Damian could have been, and that's when I then caught sight of the two Bratland boys brawling it out, taking down whole buildings and using whatever they could get their hands on as a weapon. I switched my gaze away from them and saw Gerard finally being thrown from the wolfs head, his body crashing into the side of a building. I could very vaguely see his eyes roll into the back of his head for a moment before he came back just as strong, thank god! 

Right now, Erebus was just wailing and growling and howling out into the open air as it pawed achingly at its penetrated eye, throwing its body every which way as if that would somehow lessen the pain. Gerard and I both took advantage of this opportunity and ambushed it at the same time. We gave each other split second glances, understand one another without really even having to say anything. 

I used a car laying on its side as leverage to get myself up onto the side of the wolf where Gerard previously stood. Gerard of course took the other side, taking his rapier and lodging it straight into Erebus's other eye through the lid. I heard an awful ' _squish_ ' and its howling agonizingly pained up at the dark, red tinted sky. Gerard and I exchanged knowing glances just before I bent myself over Erebus's skull and began clawing at his already depleting eye with my bare hands, seeing as I was left unarmed once again. The sponge like muscle trembled underneath my fingers as my grip grew tighter, and Gerard took to repeatedly stabbing the socket over and over again until there was virtually nothing left. Erebus was soon left completely blind, its feral flailing increasing in speed and strength all in one. 

Instead of just trying to throw us off with its thrashing, it simply ran into the same direction until the side of its body crammed against the side of a building on the verge of caving already. Gerard was practically mushed underneath Erebus's skull, shrieking loudly, his voice like daggers in my eardrums. Erebus quickly removed itself from the buildings walls and I was the only one left on top of it. But I wasn't going to wait for it to get me off on its own. 

Instead, I took a few seconds to scout out a landing spot. I forced my hands out of the wolfs eye socket, making sure to rip away even more of the doughy flesh with me before I crouched down low and let myself fly freely through the air, barrel rolling a few times before coming back up to my feet. I skillfully maneuvered my way past the wolf throwing itself against virtually everything around it, nearly being trampled by it in the process of getting back to Gerard. 

"Gerard!" I called out to him as he struggled a bit in standing up properly. I reached my hands out to him, ready to catch him if he toppled. But much to my surprise, me managed to keep himself upright, only momentarily using his shoulders as a stand. 

"Gee, holy fuck! Are you okay!?" 

"I-I'm fine!" he stammered for a second before bringing his large calloused hands down onto my shoulders. I jumped a bit, and I knew he was upset with me for going against what he said. "Are  _you_  okay!? You're bleeding, fuck!" he cursed, seeing my bleeding hands. I shook my head, letting out an aggravated sigh as I was once again reminded of the sharp pains stemming from the gunshot wounds in my chest.

"I've been bleeding for hours!" 

"And it's a fuckin' miracle you're still kicking!" 

Before I had a chance to protest (not that I would really want to) he tugged me harshly against him, arms coiling around my waist and his nose making a home in the crook of my aching shoulder. I ignored the pain momentarily, embracing him back and tangling my hands in his stringy red hair. 

"I love you so fucking much!" he nearly sobbed. He quivered against me, desperate angry sobs trying to escape. But we couldn't cry right now. 

"I know, I love you, too! I love you, Gee, I love you!" I chanted right back at him, making the quivering more violent. But we had to pull away eventually as Erebus was still going crazy not ten feet away. 

"What do we do about this!?" 

"Oh fuck, MOVE!" 

Gerard snatched up my body just in time, keeping me up against him the entire time as we tumbled off into the bulldozed rode. We both suffered a multitude of cuts and scratches, but it was better than being crushed by Erebus. 

We recovered not long after the tumble to see Erebus crashing himself into everything he could find, never able to be tamed it seemed. I wasn't sure if I was more terrified before, or if I was more terrified now that this things movements were primitive and unpredictable. There's no telling what could happen next! So the only thing left to do was just made a run for it and hope it couldn't sense where we were going. 

"Oh fuck!" Gerard cursed, clenching his teeth. "GogogogogogoGOGOGOGO!!" His yells and hollers grew more panicked and frightened with each passing second and consequently, I grew to be more panicked and frightened. I always liked to remain calm and composed, but that was a bit difficult with him incessantly crying out like that! I didn't say anything about it, however. I merely just did as he told me too, him following not too far behind. 

"GEE!" I wailed out for him as we were both forced to jump onto opposite sides of the street in order to evade being trampled again. I cursed and clenched my jaw, my backside being pressed up against a large, bulky and bloodstained semi-truck. Erebus was getting closer, and I freaked out when the mass of his weight started tipping the monstrous vehicle back towards me! 

"FUCK!" I screamed and made a desperate run for it, hoping not to get crushed by this thing. 

For these few seconds, time seemed to slow down as my heart rate skyrocketed, my rib cage about ready to burst from the pressure. I pushed myself forward anyway. Once again, I was nowhere near being human, but even so. The thought of being mushed into a flat pancake by a fucking semi truck wasn't exactly something I fancied. And what made it worse was that my dread felt like it was slowing me down. Every joint in my sore and bleeding body throbbed with adrenaline, trying to keep up with my commands to go faster, go faster dammit! Sweat dripped from every pour on my face, my mask bobbing up and down slightly from its place underneath my chin. 

I didn't have the time to process it even as it was happening, my feet getting tangled up and feeling myself tripping over a pile of rubble and ash. I fell down to my side, rolling over slightly. For a moment, just one moment I thought I had made far out enough to where it was safe. Well, I was half right. My body was safe from being crushed, but my arm wasn't.


	50. Professional Griefers

**Demetri's POV**

The last time Damian and I have ever fought, or even properly spoken to each other was over two years ago. Ever since then, I've been passionately hating him from afar, viewing him in my mind as a power hungry dictator I never had to meet. So being engaged in a grueling, heated one on one battle with him after this long was surreal to say the least. The first in forever I felt his closed fist come into contact with my ash covered face was jarring, yet aggravating in so many ways. It was so tragically familiar, because all my life I've let him walk all over me. All my life, I've put up with him hitting me, calling me names, telling me I needed to man up and take what was mind. By that, he always meant the throne. And I feel so fucking ashamed of myself because for many years, I did as he told. 

I ruled over the Dracs alongside him, convinced that what we had was normal. Convinced that it was for the greater good. That this was always what was meant to happen. But the moment he ever laid a finger on my lover, my poor precious lover, I was done for. I knew I never wanted to follow in his footsteps and I made it my life's goal never to go down that road ever again. Since then, I've done everything in my power to be exactly the opposite of my twin brother. We may look the same, but we are nothing alike. 

He is a zealous king, ruling only for the sake of controlling everything in his wake. He is the Antichrist. I am Arachnophobia. I strive to maintain balance in our society and in our world, I made an oath to every single one of the Killjoys that one day we will succeed and overthrow the King and Queen. 

Yes. This was all very familiar. Familiar and enraging. 

"You'll go TO HELL!" I kept reminding him every few moments as we sparred and threw attacks at each other, every single one we could think of. Whether that be a simple punch, a drop kick or a complex maneuver of the body that resulted in a cracked rib or ruptured organ. If this were any other fight between us, I'm sure he would have wiped the floor with my face. He is the King, so the power he wields now is much stronger than before. I could feel my blood start to thin out just from the cold look in his eyes. But my rage matched up well with that, so I actually stood a chance this time around. 

After giving Scapegrace/Winter a chance of survival against his wolf, Erebus, I stopped Damian from gouging Gerard's eyes out and took over the fight myself; I told Gerard to go help his lover while I dealt with my imbecile of a brother. I was fairly confident they could take on Erebus, or at the very least incapacitate him if they couldn't kill him. Worst comes to worse, I'll take care of Erebus myself once I'm finished with Damian. Although right now, my mind was nowhere near that dark wolf of his. Every fiber of my being was dedicated to destroying my twin.

He hurled a full sized vehicle at me, and I blocked the attack, hurling it straight back at him and making him go rolling off to the side in order to avoid being crushed. I scoffed at this and stalked forward towards him, fists poised and bleeding. He cocked his head off to the side and gave me that sickeningly sweet grin I've grown well accustomed to. 

"Please, Demi, I don't wanna fight you." 

Something about the tone of his voice suggested he was joking, and I wouldn't be at all surprised. If there's anything my good for nothing brother is talented at, it's lying through his teeth. I scoffed again and threw a round of jabs at his face and throat. He evaded them with ease, grabbing at my waist and slamming me down onto my back. I retaliated just as quickly, kicking him in the chin twice in a row and jumping my way back up, going in for another round of punches. I managed to nick him a few times, but never enough to do any real damage. 

He eventually grew tired of it and snatched up my arm, spinning his body around and forcing me onto my knees. His knee came rushing at the small of my back, undoubtedly cracking my spine. I groaned and shut my eyes tightly, until one final blow to my upper back nearly had me retching. But I pressed the palms of my hands flat on the gravel and bucked my legs up again, kicking wildly at him like I was a bull. He yelled out in shock as I had actually gotten him good. I'm not sure where, but wherever it was I'm sure he's bleeding pretty badly. Good. 

I leaped back up and faced him head on, and I was right. His left nostril was a bloody Niagara Falls, but even so, he smirked wickedly at me. I jumped up, going in for another mirage of drop and butterfly kicks. He dodged the first few, got hit a few times, then grew tired of it and smacked me away with his weird telekinetic abilities. I was smashed up against the side of a truck. When I tried removing myself from it, he used his mind to slam me back into it, making the pain in my back increase further. He took his sweet time in sauntering up at me, sneering and scoffing and spitting at my feet. 

"Where's your army now, huh? Where are they?" he tested. I shook my head, refusing to give him the satisfaction of admitting a majority of the Killjoys had been wiped out. They tried their best, but I guess our best just still wasn't enough. 

"Rot in hell you mangy beast!" 

"That's code talk for 'they're all dead'. Y'know, I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed in you. I was hoping to at least get a good fight out of this. But instead, we just cruised on through the city without a care in the world. Your little attempt to cease our reign was nothing more than a nuisance at best. We've won, little brother. Tch!" 

This time, I was the one so spit barbarously at his feet. But he simply ignored it, and clutched my jaw in his hands, bringing his face in real close. I almost gagged at the stench of human blood decorating his clothes and flesh. He wore it on himself like a medallion. It made me sick. 

"And you know what I always say, right? If you can't beat 'em, join'em." 

His hot breath brushed against my cheek. I hissed and tried pulling away, but he simply held onto my face tighter. 

"Now, I don't have any control over what you decide. I won't try and convince you to join me once more...but I'd be more than happy to have you back under my wing again. Just think about it, we can have the normal brotherly relationship we never got to enjoy. Wouldn't that be good? Huh? Maybe one day I'll even help you find another beautiful young man to share your love with, one who won't try and brainwash you to go against me." he voice trailed off into a low growl by the end, and I couldn't take it anymore, hearing him talk about my love like that. Without a second thought, I hissed sharply at him, only causing for Damian to giggle like a small child. But he wasn't giggling for long. Especially not after I drove forward and sunk my razor canines deep into the flesh of his neck and quickly ripping myself away, taking a chunk of his flesh along with me. 

"AHHH!! YOU LITTLE FUCKING CRETIN!!"

"GET OFF!" I kicked him away with the sole of my boot a few times, once, I hopped up and slammed both my feet into his head. He was so caught up in his blind anger that he didn't see it coming when I picked up a large piece of broken gravel and chucked it at his skull. I picked up another piece, this time beating him with it, hoping this would at least do some sort of damage. Although it didn't seem to be doing anything other than just pissing him off, it still gave me a sense of gratification, knowing that  _I_ was making him bleed.

When he grew fed up with my antic, he smacked my hand away, then smacked my face with his ring adorned finger. This little piece of jewelry scraped against my cheek and this only broadened my rage. I smacked him back just as hard, perhaps even harder before I jumped up behind him, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist and clawing at his face like some sort of cat. My scraping fingers tried getting at his eyes, and he managed to keep from going permanently blind, but when I couldn't get at his eyes I went for the rest of his face. Scratching, biting viciously at his head and even trying to snap his neck. Once again, I knew that wouldn't kill him, but it would still hurt like hell. 

He threw his body against whatever he could find, vehement in getting me off. But I persisted, only tightening my legs grip on him and soon wrapping my around around his neck, squeezing him in a tight choke hold. 

He was now smashing his backside, and my backside as well, against the wall of a nearby building. The ever present sensation of all the bruises and cuts on my back opening back up never left the harder he mashed himself against the building. He screamed at me to get off, but I wouldn't listen. Instead, I released one of my arms, lifted it above me and plowed my sharp elbow on top of his skull, where his soft spot once was as a baby. He let out a strangled, broken cry and collapsed to his knees. I performed this same move again, this time on the back of his neck. His arms fell limp at his sides, and I was now straddling the back of what felt like a corpse. 

"Fucking pig!" 

I removed myself from his limp form and began ruthlessly kicking at his sides and at his abdomen over and over, smiling horrendously as blood came trickling and sputtering from his mouth. The look of pure submission in his eyes had me bawling out of laughter. 

I was going in for another harsh slam of my boot when an unforeseen burst of energy exploded from Damian's body and I was sent tumbling away, rolling over a few times before finally coming to a stop a few meters away. "Ow, shit!" I cursed and very shakily lifted myself up, bringing my knee up to my chest and eventually standing back up. Damian had fully recovered by the time I looked over to where he was, and Erebus was heard screeching from a distance as well as an ear piercing wail that I knew could only come from Winter. For a brief moment, I wanted to sprint over there and save her from whatever it was that had her screaming like that. Because I've never heard her sound so distressed and in pain. At least not the kind of pain to elicit such sounds...but I also couldn't just abandon this fight with Damian. Besides, whatever is going on, I'm sure Gerard is handling it. 

"I really don't understand your line of thinking here, Demi Boy." his hands were on either side of his body, gesturing to all the death surrounding us. "I think it's clear who the winner here is. You've lost this battle, little brother. I'm sorry to say, but again..."

"I'm not going back to that life!" I spat indignantly at him again, my wadded up saliva staining the sole of his nice dress shoe. He sighed annoyingly at my somewhat childish gesture and adjusted the cuff of his sleeve, despite there not being much to adjust. He was always a snob like that. 

"Shame. I really looked forward to ruling with you once again." 

"You're a sick fuck, y'know that?" 

"I've been told, yes." he chuckled and I growled. How could he be so casual about this? Everything around us is in shambles, New York City will never be the same again. Nothing can save this place, now. We failed miserably in what we set out to do, the Killjoys have lost. The Dracs have successfully taken over. Not even this country's military could do anything to save it. Not that I expected it too...

But now, I'm the only hope left for anyone. The army I created has fallen and the Drac Kingdom has risen. I couldn't give up without a fight.

"Just stop now, save yourself the embarrassment. You know you can't kill me."

"No." I agreed with him. Because after all, I'm just a man. A man who once loved but now has nobody to call his. A man who used to be best friends with his twin brother, but now can't stand the sight of him. A man who made friends with a vigilante and forced her to be a part of an army that failed. A man who forced a poor teen girl to give up her life and come fight for me. A man who forced that same teen girl to leave behind the first man she's loved since Naomi. The first man she's loved in general. 

No. I'm not anything special. All I am is somebody who tried making a chance, who tried starting a revolution. But failure was written in my genes. Because I fail at everything. I failed to protect everyone against this  _incubus_ , I failed to win this war, I failed to save all my friends...I've failed everyone. I'm not fit to be a leader. I'm not fit to be anything more than trash on the side of the street. 

"But I can try." 

He sighed heavily and crossed his arms, just daring me to make a move. I wasn't about to wait around and wait for it to happen. 

I stepped forward, ready to tackle him to the ground when Damian snapped his fingers.

"Erebus." 

One word. Just one word was all that beast needed in order to release a shrieking howl at the moon and blindly come bounding in our direction. He skidded to a halting stop on his battered paws, bowing obediently at his master. 

"Looks like they managed to do some real damage to you, huh boy?" he said nonchalantly, gently patting the large creatures head before the beast opened up its previously bleeding eyes. I was expecting for them to just be bleeding, void holes in the center of his skull. But instead, when he opened them back up, he revealed his ink black eyes to be just fine. His vision having been restored completely....

Damian's gaze shifted back over to me, a malevolent glint in his eyes. His lips slowly upturned into an evil sneer along with the fatal words...

"Get him, boy."

\-----

**Winter's POV**

"AAAAHHHHHH!!" 

The shrill screams emanating from my lips were loud enough to to explode anyone's eardrums, and powerful enough to make my throat bleed. I'm certain my screams were going to fuck up my vocal chords when I was done, but I couldn't help it! The pain was so unbearable, unlike anything I've ever experienced before! I'm usually very good at taking hits, hell, I've been running around the city with two bleeding gunshot wounds inflicted upon me by an enchanted weapon! And I was fine, it hurt, but I knew I would be fine. But this, I can't even describe the hell I was being put through. 

I didn't even want to know what my arm looks like now, being flattened into a pancake under a fucking semi truck! I kicked at the vehicle, despite that not doing anything to help my situation. I was curled up into a fetal position, struggling and hoping that eventually I could pull myself out from under it, but common sense told me that wouldn't happen. So I kept screaming, shiny red tears caking my already blood covered face. 

From my peripheral, I could see Gerard rushing over to my side and then crouching down beside me. He was cursing and stumbling over his words, while also trying to assure me that everything would be okay. But I could barely hear him speak over my own screams rattling my brain. 

"Oh god, ohgodohgod oh FUCK!" 

I could tell he didn't know what to do, and neither did I, really. But still, I persisted in my mindless kicking, which in turn only made the pain worse. You know that feeling when you're in the doctors office, and they check your blood pressure? That weird device they wrap around your arm that squeezes until it almost hurts? That's what it's like, only worse. So much worse. I felt like I was reverting back to the old days where the only solution I knew was to cry. Just cry, because nothing else works. 

"Winter, b-baby! I-It's gonna be okay! Okay? Just-Just focus on my voice honey, don't close your eyes! For the love of god, s-stay awake, everything will be okay!" 

He was just as frantic as I was, crying profusely and hands shaking like none other. This didn't really help in anyway, but I was too wrapped up in my violent wailing to say anything about it. I felt his hand come onto my shoulder, not knowing what to do. I eventually tired myself out and ceased my kicking, and only buried my face into the gravel in which I lay, gasping and sobbing. 

"Itai! I-ITAI! TASUKETE! TASUKETE!!" 

"Hold on, baby! I-I'll make everything all better, okay!? Everything will be just fine!" he screamed, and I got the feeling he wasn't just trying to reassure me. He was trying to reassure himself and keep himself from having a full blown panic attack. I could just tell from his overwrought voice alone. I could only respond with the same few words in my native language, one I knew he couldn't understand. 

"TASUKETE! TASUKETE! ITAI!! ITATI! TASUKETE!!" I repeated in a continuous, looping chant, for I knew no other words in this moment. 

"Sshh! Everything will be okay baby, I'm gonna make it all better!" he yelled again as he tried and tried with all his might to lift the semi truck off of my arm. It didn't even so much as budge no matter how hard he cursed or pushed himself. This thing wasn't moving, and even if it did...I really didn't want to know what had become of my right arm. The same arm I used to create all my art, or to hold a weapon...was it now simply reduced to a flattened mess of powdered bones and leaking blood? 

I cried even harder at the mere thought. I couldn't even wiggle my fingers, if they were even still intact! 

"FuckfuckfuckfuckFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK!" 

"TASUKETE!!" 

"I-It's not moving, baby it's not moving!" his voice ended in a terrible sob, and I knew I was fucked. I knew it, he knew it. But something inside me was still hoping he could pull off a miracle and lift it off me. I didn't want to face the reality of things. I didn't want to face the truth! In fact, I couldn't move. I panted heavily and cried, feeling Gerard's big, warm, burned hands shakily caress my tangled, bloodied hair. 

"Ahhh," I let out a high pitched sound that bordered on that of a moan. "K-Kami sama, kami sama! Nante kotta...nante kotta...!" 

"Winter, Winter baby...listen to me, okay, listen to me, sshh!" he moved strands of hair sticking to my face away and pressed his lips to my forehead a few times to try and calm me down. It seemed like it was somewhat working, but my heart still felt like it was ready to implode. 

"Winter, baby, th-there's no way I can get you free unless I amputate-"

"IIE! IIE! IIE!" 

"Baby girl, I-I can't understand you, please!" he cried. But my head felt so full and foggy, I couldn't bring myself to care if he understood what I was saying or not. 

"Hang on, my sweet girl-" oh god, no, don't call me that! That's exactly what Naomi used to say..."I'm gonna get you out of here!" 

Before I could comprehend or dissent at all, he brought his rapier up above hid head and impaled it a few inches below my shoulder, making my deafening shrieks become even louder. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't hear my own thoughts! 

"IYA DESU! YAMETE KUDASAI!! HONTOU NI, YAMETE KUDASAI!!! MOU IYA DESU!! MOU HONTOU NI YAMETE KUDASAII!!! YAMETE YAMETE YAMETE!" 

He wouldn't stop, no matter how hard I begged! The honed weapon kept penetrating my skin, going further and further. When I dared to open my eyes again, I could see sections of my bone beginning to poke out. "NOOOO!!!!" 

When the rapier wouldn't go through my bone, Gerard finally stopped and I almost sighed with relief, before his lips were by my ear again. 

"Baby baby, you're not gonna like what I'm about to do, it's gonna hurt but it'll be over soon, I promise!" 

"NANI!?" 

What else could he possibly do that would hurt more than this!? Unless....

No, he wouldn't. He can't be referring to...no.

I took to shrieking once more when Gerard grabbed onto my body and began pulling me away from the wreckage. My eyes burned so badly from all the crying but I couldn't help it! I've never experienced something so painful in my life, and I never thought I'd know what it feels like to lose a part of yourself in this way. I just want to wake up and have this all be just some fucked up dream! Please just let it be a dream! Just let me wake up again in Naomi's arms! Let it not be true! Please! 

I could feel what little skin there was left between my shoulder and my arm being ripped away from each other like play dough. The bone slowly starting to crack under all the pressure, tendons disconnecting, all the layers of flesh being torn in half. When the final  _crack!_  of my bone sounded, Gerard was able to freely move me away from the wreckage. I saw a mound of flesh that was my arm poking out from under the semi-truck. My stomach dropped. This was real, this was happening. My arm was gone. 

_My fucking arm was gone._

"IIE! IIE!! IIEEEEEEE!!!!" 

"Sssshhhh!! Winter baby it's okay, shh! Just focus on my voice, everything's alright!" 

It's not alright. 

The agony was so rattling and crippling, I could barely stand without passing out. My head was already starting to feel lighthearted from the blood loss, and what made it worse was then I knew this wouldn't kill me. I would survive, but now I wasn't sure I wanted to. 

When I was younger, I went through a time where I wanted to die to escape the pain. And now those feelings had returned to me. But this time, I wanted to escape a different type of pain. 

"Fuck! I need something to cauterize it with!"

He gingerly set me on the ground, rushing around trying to find something to help. When he didn't find anything, he simply ran back over to me, instructing me to take off my duster. I tried doing as he told, but he had to help me in even that simple task alone, as it was excruciating to have the smooth leather fabric gliding over my fresh, open and heavily bleeding wound. Once it was off, he ripped off a section from the other, still intact sleeve, and used it as a makeshift tourniquet. It didn't do much to alleviate the blood loss, but it was better than nothing I guess. 

"Come on my sweet girl, everything's gonna be okay!" he kept chanting those same, encouraging words at me as he lifted me off my feet. He carried me bridal style, the seeping red stump where my limb used to be was bleeding all over his shirt and dripping down his legs, but he didn't seem to give a single care in the world as he dashed away. It wasn't long until the trauma of it all had caught up to me, and I could no longer keep my eyes open. 

\-----

When I came to, there was a throbbing ache on my right side. I blinked rapidly for a few moments, adjusting to the light and looked over to see the cause of my pain. And that's when I remembered what had taken place...how long ago was it? I couldn't tell how long it's been. It could have been days for all I know. 

"Oh my god, guys she's waking up!"

"Holy fuck! Winter, Winter honey, baby girl look at me, how do you feel!?" 

I was bombarded with so many voices, I mean, there were only three of them. But it felt like a million with the way my head was pounding like I had had a bit too much to drink last night. A pair of strong arms assisted me in sitting up, and I found myself back on the couch I had grown so used to. That familiar black leather couch that Gerard and I had been caught fooling around on by either Frank or Mikey many times. After what felt like hours, I could finally make out my surroundings. 

We were back in Gerard's apartment, and for a split second relief flooded my system. Maybe I had gotten my wish after all, everything's gone back to normal! No more Dracs, no more Damian, no more signing my life away to fight in a losing revolution. Just peace and quiet with the man I fell in love with! 

How stupid of me to even think such things. 

It was made quite obvious to me that things had still gone to shit when I saw just how  _disastrous_  the place was. Furniture flipped over, kitchen torn apart with shards of glass and bent cutlery littering the wooden floors. Blood was splattered on various sections of the wall, and I swore I thought I saw a dead hand poking out from behind the kitchen counter...

But Frank and Mikey were here. Gerard was pressed against my side, tightly pressing his hands against the tourniquet that was pressing against my armless shoulder. Both of the other boys looked at me with unadulterated fear in their eyes, like they thought I was going to be dead within the next few moments. One can only hope. 

"Wha-what's going on? What's h-happening?" 

"Finally back to English," Frank muttered and scooted closer to me. I gave him a confused look bordering on a glare. 

"When we found you and Gee, Mikey had to translate for us. You were only speaking in Japanese." Frank explained. I nodded weakly and looked up to see Gerard crying above me, nestling his face into the crook of my neck and apologizing profusely. A thick slew of words strung from his bruised lips, and I was suddenly reminded of how badly it hurt. He cut off my fucking arm, he used his rapier to slash at my skin and then he yanked at my body until I eventually detached from my limb. And I had to face the reality that things just never would be the same again. Life for me was bound to be a living hell, so many things put off balance. I wouldn't be able to write for a long long time until I worked out my left hand. I wouldn't be able to fight as well as I did when I had both arms...no. I think I'd much rather be dead. 

I wish Gerard had just killed me instead, left me out alone until some Drac would find me and put me out of my misery. 

"Where's D-Demetri?" I stammered. Gerard shook his head sadly. My heart dropped and I looked back over to the other two boys, as if they would somehow make things better. But of course that didn't happen. 

"What are we--what's going on!? S-Someone please answer me!!" I begged. 

"Winter, we...we don't know what's gonna happen." Mikey put his hand on my shoulder, the one not bleeding. "We just came here because we didn't know what else to do. But we...we really can't know what's gonna happen next..." 

"F-Frank?" I called out for him, but I didn't get a chance to tell him anything. Because as if on cue, his gaze darted over to the television, and so did mine, and Gerard's, and Mikey's. The volume was turned up almost all the way, and I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. There's no way they would just decide to turn the television on if it wasn't important. This I knew. 

On the screen was a woman in her thirties, wit dirtied blonde hair and endless tears streaming from her eyes. Her voice was trembling, clear that she was barely able to speak at all. She had an earpiece on, a disorganized, messy stack of papers sat in front of her. The studio in which she was being filmed in looked like something straight out of a Silent Hill game. There was blood everywhere, and eerily quiet. I dreaded what her next words were be. If I had the strength to do so, I would have covered my ears just to keep myself from hearing those words. 

"Th-This just i-i-in...the U-US government h-has collapsed...and in its p-place...in its place..." 

"No. No, this can't be real." Frank interjected, panic rising in his voice. "This can't be happening!" 

Gerard's grip on my tightened, and I pressed myself further against the couch. 

"In its place...a-a-are the...the Dracs...a-all h-h-hail King Damian, a-and Qu-Queen Valerie."


	51. Help I'm Alive

**Winter's POV**

_"Th-This just i-i-in...the U-US government h-has collapsed...and in its p-place...in its place...In its place...a-a-are the...the Dracs...a-all h-h-hail King Damian, a-and Qu-Queen Valerie."_

Words simply couldn't describe the paralyzing dread that flooded my system. I was sitting here on my boyfriend's couch, bleeding all over it, one of my arms no longer attached to my body and staring at the sobbing news anchor on the television. In this moment, I knew she was a manifestation of what everyone was feeling. Dread. Fear. Terror. Panic. None of these words seemed to do it justice. But I couldn't think of anything else to describe it as. 

The entire future of this county, and of humanity has been derailed. No longer will the humans live in a free world, no longer will they get to make their own decisions. No. Instead, they get to be the new house pets. They'll be the new cats and dogs of this generation, being treated as nothing more than slaves at the bottom of the food chain. That is, if the majority of them haven't already been killed off. 

Just walking down the streets of what used to be New York, everywhere you looked there was a defiled corpse laying dormant on the ground. Some of the Dracs were even sick enough to hang those dead bodies up on buildings and signs like ornaments. The whole place was like some horrible, macabre party with intestines for ribbons and heads instead of balloons. And it was all because of that sick fuck they call a king. 

Damian. 

It killed me inside to know that we have suffered a great failure. This day is the mark of our downfall. The downfall of the Killjoys. 

We were supposed to be the heroes. We were supposed to stop this from happening. We were supposed to protect the humans. I didn't give my life away so we could be fucked in the ass by The King and Queen. I didn't leave my best friend, my lover, and my mother so we could watch our home crumble and fall apart, so we could watch it make way for total desolation. I didn't lose a part of my body just so I could watch the Dracs march in here and claim this place as their own. 

Dracs? More like fucking Nazi's. 

"Iie." I said under my breath, Gerard, Mikey and Frank stricken with disbelief on the couch. Frank and Mikey hadn't moved in almost ten minutes, I never even saw them blink. Not once. I, on the other hand, needed to do something. I couldn't just sit here and let this happen! I couldn't just sit here like a moron and accept this fate, because this is NOT what I fought for. 

I tore myself away from Gerard's hold. He tried pulling me back down with him, and I grimaced as my bleeding stump reacted horribly to the sensation. But I didn't care. I had to get up, I had to do something. 

"Winter, Winter sit back down!" Gerard commanded me, but I didn't listen. I tried elbowing him to get him to let me go, but of course I didn't h have an elbow to do that with. So I merely tugged myself away and tried going for the kitchen. There was no way I was gonna get through this sober. If I'm gonna witness our whole world being burned down right before our eyes, I was at least going to be drunk for it. 

I quickly found that walking was a chore for me, now. My center of gravity was off now that I only had one arm. I ended up on my knees, nearly face planting the floor. I managed to catch myself with my left hand, but just barely. Odious cries left my mouth, what liked to be red paint coated my body, my clothes. Blood of the innocent, blood of those who I tried to save. And the blood of those who I callously took the lives of. It all blended together. I looked like I had just taken a bath in the stuff. 

I felt Gerard's hands trying to help me stand, Frank and Mikey coming over to assist as well. They were yelling at me to sit back down among other things. But the ringing in my ears drowned our their voices, they only came out as incoherent mumbling. Everything was so surreal, nothing felt real anymore. I couldn't tell what was reality and what wasn't. My vision was pulsing, my eyes seeing red. I couldn't even hear my own breathing, or my own heartbeat. I couldn't hear anything but I was seeing everything. All of my failures, every single person I tried to save. People I loved, as well as people I didn't even know. They were all screaming inside my head. Asking me, over and over. Why? Why didn't I save them? Why? 

I could see my lover, my very first lover on her knees, sobbing. Hunched back and quivering shoulders. She was sat in the middle of all this madness, calling my name. I ran over to where she was as fast as I could, crouching down in front of her and trying to hug her. But she pushed me away. She started screaming at me, calling me a monster. 

"You failed me. You broke your promise!" 

"I-I--"

"YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A MONSTER, AND MONSTERS DESERVE TO DIE!" 

I didn't understand what was happening, she was dead. She's been dead for over a year, but she was alive and talking to me and calling me a monster. Breaking my heart... Never in my life, have I been so negatively affected by just one person's words! Even though a very minuscule section of my mind rationalized this, and told me it wasn't real. It was all just in my head, none of it was happening. But rationality took the back seat. My distraught emotions have taken the wheel. I could no longer think straight. I couldn't feel anything except for the prodding hands of the boys, but even then. It felt like even they were fading away. I didn't know if this was me passing out, or if this was me dying. 

I really hoped it was me dying. 

And then it happened. I was suddenly pulled back into reality when the front door caved in. Dracs barged into the living room, E. guns blazing, emotionless faces and blood stained hands. They screamed at us to get down before coming over and restraining us. They grabbed us, shoved us down and pressed our faces into the filthy wooded floors. We all screamed and protested their actions, none of us strong enough to fight against them now. Especially Gerard or me. But even if we were strong enough to even land a punch, I don't think we would have, anyway. What was the point? We're all fucked anyway. 

They didn't bother putting a pair of cuffs on me, mainly because they couldn't. But in my opinion, they didn't need to. There's nothing left that anyone can do to salvage what little freedom we had left. I knew this. I wasn't like the boys anymore. Fighting would get us nowhere. It was all pointless. It was all moot. I was fully accepting of my inevitable fate. I was more than ready to receive a bullet to the back of my head. A bullet. Just one bullet was all it would take to end it all. Because now, death was our salvation. Not everyone is going to see it right away. But I could. I saw it clear as day. I've always seen it, ever since I was a little girl. Death was always something I was fascinated with. 

But now it was something I'm in love with. Death was always my one true love. 

I'd rather die now, than live in a world ravaged my Damian Bratland. 

_Speak of the devil..._

Between the rough hand grabbing at my hair and the foot putting more and more pressure against my back, I could make out the shape of very large boots standing in front of me. I was allowed to look up, only to see Damian himself glowering down at me. That ever present smirk painted on his face, hair still neatly kept despite everything. Even in all this chaos, he still managed to look sharp. 

"Wha...w-what are you gonna do with them?" I asked feebly, staring up at him with shimmering eyes. He knelt down and nearly pressed his face against mind. His cold breath glided along my cheek, making me sick. My head throbbed just looking at him. 

"Don't worry, little one." he cooed sweetly, which just made me want to throw up even more. How dare he act so cordial when he's responsible for the downfall of millions. It took everything in my power not to chomp at his hand, as it had stroked my bloody hair away from my face. "They'll be just fine. I wouldn't worry about them."

I started crying again. He started wiping my tears away almost lovingly. I didn't have the strength to push him away. 

"Just kill me now. You've won. Just fucking get it over with." I whimpered. He chuckled above me, his mock sweet gestures never ceasing. Any moment now, I was expecting for him to flip me over and drain me of all my blood. Kill me the same way he killed my one true love. Or maybe he'll take a different route this time. Maybe he'll tear all the rest of my limbs from their sockets, or gun me down right where I lay. Or maybe he'll stand me up in front of all my friends, in front of my lover. Make them watch as he desecrates me. Or maybe he'll string me up in front of all the Dracs and make a show out of me. Make me suffer for much longer before finally putting me out of my misery. Any one of those possibilities, I was okay with. More than okay with. I'll gladly suffer for just a bit longer if it meant I'll die in the end. 

Maybe I'll even get to be with my one true love again. Feel her hands on my waist, her lips on my neck. I could cry just thinking about it. Being in her arms once more, getting to apologize to her for not being stronger. For not being able to save her...maybe I'll go to hell, and I was perfectly fine with that as well. Hell had already invaded the earth. What would be the difference?

"Oh, no. You think I'm going to kill you just like that? No, little one. I've got a different plan for you."

_**TO BE CONTINUED...** _


End file.
